Protein glycation is a slow natural process involving the chemical modification of the reactive amino and guanidine functions in amino acids by sugars and carbohydrates-derived reactive carbonyls. Its deleterious consequences are obvious in the case of long-lived proteins in aged people and are exacerbated by the high blood concentration of sugars in diabetic patients. The non-enzymatic glycation of proteins occurs through a wide range of concurrent processes comprising condensation, rearrangement, fragmentation, and oxidation reactions. Using a few well established intermediates such as Schiff base, Amadori product and reactive a-dicarbonyls as milestones and the results of in vitro glycation investigations, an overall detailed mechanistic analysis of protein glycation is presented for the first time. The pathways leading to several advanced glycation end products (AGEs) such as (carboxymethyl)lysine, pentosidine, and glucosepane are outlined, whereas other AGEs useful as potential biomarkers of glycation are only briefly mentioned. The current stage of the development of glycation inhibitors has been reviewed with an emphasis on their mechanism of action.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), a member of the heat shock protein family, plays a key role as a sensor and regulator of oxidative stress. Herein, we identify HO-1 as a biomarker and potential therapeutic target for advanced prostate cancer (PCA). Immunohistochemical analysis of prostate tissue using a progression tissue microarray from patients with localized PCA and across several stages of disease progression revealed a significant elevation of HO-1 expression in cancer epithelial cells, but not in surrounding stromal cells, from hormone-refractory PCA (HRPCA) compared with hormone-responsive PCA and benign tissue. Silencing the ho-1 gene in HRPCA cells decreased the HO-1 activity, oxidative stress, and activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase–extracellular signal-regulated kinase/p38 kinase. This coincided with reduced cell proliferation, cell survival, and cell invasion in vitro, as well as inhibition of prostate tumor growth and lymph node and lung metastases in vivo. The effect of ho-1 silencing on these oncogenic features was mimicked by exposure of cells to a novel selective small-molecule HO-1 inhibitor referred to as OB-24. OB-24 selectively inhibited HO-1 activity in PCA cells, which correlated with a reduction of protein carbonylation and reactive oxygen species formation. Moreover, OB-24 significantly inhibited cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth and lymph node/lung metastases in vivo. A potent synergistic activity was observed when OB-24 was combined with Taxol. Together, these results establish HO-1 as a potential therapeutic target for advanced PCA. [Cancer Res 2009;69(20):8017–24]