Quantification and Analysis of Advanced Glycation End Products in avian plasma

Abstract

Comparison of avian plasma glucose concentrations with those of mammals of similar body mass shows that birds have much higher levels of plasma glucose. Hyperglycemia in diabetic patients can lead to the binding of glucose to the lysine residues of serum albumin to form glycated albumin. Through a series of reactions, the last of which is non‐reversible, this glycated albumin is converted to Advanced Glycation End‐products (AGEs). Pentosidine, a well‐characterized AGE, has been quantified in humans and has been related to age and diabetic complications. Does the high level of glucose in avian plasma lead to high levels of AGEs? In our study using HPLC, we quantified pentosidine to determine if there is a relationship between pentosidine and glucose in avian (mourning dove) plasma. The results of our HPLC analysis of avian plasma indicated a pentosidine concentration of 44 × 10−3 pmol/μl (14.9 × 10−3). This can be compared to 100 × 10−3 pmol/ μl (56 × 10−3) in normal human plasma. Thus, our results indicate a pentosidine concentration in avian plasma that is 2.3 times lower than that of humans suggesting that the high plasma glucose concentrations of birds do not lead to high levels of AGEs (pentosidine). Moreover given these data, the ratio of glucose to pentosidine is much higher for birds (0.44 × 10−9) than that for humans (0.05 × 10−9).