Advanced lipoxidation end products (ALEs) and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have a pathogenetic role in the development and progression of different oxidative-based diseases including diabetes, atherosclerosis, and neurological disorders. AGEs and ALEs represent a quite complex class of compounds that are formed by different mechanisms, by heterogeneous precursors and that can be formed either exogenously or endogenously. There is a wide interest in AGEs and ALEs involving different aspects of research which are essentially focused on set-up and application of analytical strategies (1) to identify, characterize, and quantify AGEs and ALEs in different pathophysiological conditions; (2) to elucidate the molecular basis of their biological effects; and (3) to discover compounds able to inhibit AGEs/ALEs damaging effects not only as biological tools aimed at validating AGEs/ALEs as drug target, but also as promising drugs. All the above-mentioned research stages require a clear picture of the chemical formation of AGEs/ALEs but this is not simple, due to the complex and heterogeneous pathways, involving different precursors and mechanisms. In view of this intricate scenario, the aim of the present review is to group the main AGEs and ALEs and to describe, for each of them, the precursors and mechanisms of formation.

Carbonylation of proteins is an irreversible oxidative damage, often leading to a loss of protein function, which is considered a widespread indicator of severe oxidative damage and disease‐derived protein dysfunction. Whereas moderately carbonylated proteins are degraded by the proteasomal system, heavily carbonylated proteins tend to form high‐molecular‐weight aggregates that are resistant to degradation and accumulate as damaged or unfolded proteins. Such aggregates of carbonylated proteins can inhibit proteasome activity. A large number of neurodegenerative diseases are directly associated with the accumulation of proteolysis‐resistant aggregates of carbonylated proteins in tissues. Identification of specific carbonylated protein(s) functionally impaired and development of selective carbonyl blockers should lead to the definitive assessment of the causative, correlative or consequential role of protein carbonylation in disease onset and/or progression, possibly providing new therapeutic aproaches.

Roteincarbonylation is a type of protein oxidation that can be promoted by reactive oxygen species. It usually refers to a process that forms reactive ketones or aldehydes that can be reacted by 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) to form hydrazones. Direct oxidation of side chains of lysine, arginine, proline, and threonine residues, among other amino acids, in the ''primary protein carbonylation'' reaction pro- duces DNPH detectable protein products (11, 15, 23). DNPH derivatizable protein products can also be formed in the ''secondary protein carbonylation'' reaction via the addition of aldehydes such as those generated from lipid peroxida- tion processes (14, 21). Oxidative decomposition of polyun- saturated fatty acids initiates chain reactions that lead to the formation of a variety of carbonyl species (three to nine carbons in length), the most reactive and cytotoxic being a,b-unsaturated aldehydes (4-hydroxy-trans-2-nonenal and acrolein), di-aldehydes (malondialdehyde and glyoxal), and keto-aldehydes (4-oxo-trans-2-nonenal). Although the biology of oxidative protein modifications is complex and remains incompletely defined, protein carbonylation and chemistry of the reactions that give rise to carbonyl groups have been well characterized (24). The development of the antibody against DNPH-

The metabolic syndrome is a risk factor that increases the risk for development of renal and vascular complications. This study addresses the effects of chronic administration of the endogenous dipeptide carnosine (β‐alanyl‐L‐histidine, L‐CAR) and of its enantiomer (β‐alanyl‐D‐histidine, D‐CAR) on hyperlipidaemia, hypertension, advanced glycation end products, advanced lipoxidation end products formation and development of nephropathy in the non‐diabetic, Zucker obese rat. The Zucker rats received a daily dose of L‐CAR or D‐CAR (30 mg/kg in drinking water) for 24 weeks. Systolic blood pressure was recorded monthly. At the end of the treatment, plasma levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, glucose, insulin, creatinine and urinary levels of total protein, albumin and creatinine were measured. Several indices of oxidative/carbonyl stress were also measured in plasma, urine and renal tissue. We found that both L‐ and D‐CAR greatly reduced obese‐related diseases in obese Zucker rat, by significantly restraining the development of dyslipidaemia, hypertension and renal injury, as demonstrated by both urinary parameters and electron microscopy examinations of renal tissue. Because the protective effect elicited by L‐ and D‐CAR was almost superimposable, we conclude that the pharmacological action of L‐CAR is not due to a pro‐histaminic effect (D‐CAR is not a precursor of histidine, since it is stable to peptidic hydrolysis), and prompted us to propose that some of the biological effects can be mediated by a direct carbonyl quenching mechanism.