Nonenzymatic glycation of DNA nucleosides with reducing sugars

Reducing sugars can react with the free amino groups of proteins to form a heterogeneous group of compounds known as advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) or Maillard reaction products. The objective of this investigation was to monitor the nonenzymatic glycation of DNA nucleosides and to characterize the formation of nucleoside AGEs using capillary electrophoresis (CE), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), UV fluorescence spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. Deoxyguanosine, deoxyadenosine, deoxythymidine, and deoxycytidine were used as the model nucleosides and were incubated over time with glucose, galactose, or glyceraldehyde. Under increasing concentrations and time, deoxyguanosine exhibited the highest rate of glycation with glyceraldehyde. Deoxyadenosine and deoxycytidine exhibited comparable reactivity with glyceraldehyde and no appreciable reactivity with galactose or glucose. No reactivity was observed between deoxythymidine and the sugars. A combination of CE, HPLC, UV fluorescence spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry provided a convenient method for characterizing nucleoside AGEs and for monitoring the physical factors that influence the formation of sugar adducts of DNA nucleosides.