Department of Biological Chemistry, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata, 700032, India.
Biochemistry (Mosc). 2009 Oct;74(10):1059-69. doi: 10.1134/s0006297909100010.
In various organisms, an array of enzymes is involved in the synthesis and breakdown of methylglyoxal. Through these enzymes, it is intimately linked to several other physiologically important metabolites, suggesting that methylglyoxal has some important role to play in the host organism. Several in vitro and in vivo studies showed that methylglyoxal acts specifically against different types of malignant cells. These studies culminated in a recent investigation to evaluate a methylglyoxal-based formulation in treating a small group of cancer patients, and the results were promising. Methylglyoxal acts against a number of pathogenic microorganisms. However, recent literature abounds with the toxic effects of methylglyoxal, which are supposed to be mediated through methylglyoxal-derived advanced glycation end products (AGE). Many diseases such as diabetes, cataract formation, hypertension, and uremia are proposed to be intimately linked with methylglyoxal-derived AGE. However methylglyoxal-derived AGE formation and subsequent pathogenesis might be a very minor event because AGE are nonspecific reaction products that are derived through the reactions of carbonyl groups of reducing sugars with amino groups present in the side chains of lysine and arginine and in terminal amino groups of proteins. Moreover, the results of some in vitro experiments with methylglyoxal under non-physiological conditions were extrapolated to the in vivo situation. Some experiments even showed contradictory results and were differently interpreted. For this reason conclusions about the potential beneficial effects of methylglyoxal have often been neglected, thus hindering the advancement of medical science and causing some confusion in fundamental understanding. Overall, the potential beneficial effects of methylglyoxal far outweigh its possible toxic role in vivo, and it should be utilized for the benefit of suffering humanity.
在各种生物体中，有一系列的酶参与甲基乙二醛的合成和分解。通过这些酶，它与其他几种生理上重要的代谢物密切相关，这表明甲基乙二醛在宿主生物体中具有一些重要的作用。一些体外和体内研究表明，甲基乙二醛特异性地作用于不同类型的恶性细胞。这些研究最终导致了最近的一项研究，评估了一种基于甲基乙二醛的制剂在治疗一小群癌症患者中的效果，结果令人鼓舞。甲基乙二醛对许多致病性微生物有作用。然而，最近的文献中充斥着甲基乙二醛的毒性作用，这些作用据说是通过甲基乙二醛衍生的晚期糖基化终产物（AGE）介导的。许多疾病，如糖尿病、白内障形成、高血压和尿毒症，都被认为与甲基乙二醛衍生的 AGE 密切相关。然而，甲基乙二醛衍生的 AGE 形成及其随后的发病机制可能是一个非常小的事件，因为 AGE 是通过还原糖的羰基与赖氨酸和精氨酸侧链以及蛋白质末端氨基中的氨基反应生成的非特异性反应产物。此外，在非生理条件下用甲基乙二醛进行的一些体外实验结果被推断用于体内情况。一些实验甚至显示出矛盾的结果，并被不同地解释。出于这个原因，关于甲基乙二醛潜在有益作用的结论经常被忽视，从而阻碍了医学科学的进步，并在基本理解上造成了一些混乱。总的来说，甲基乙二醛的潜在有益作用远远超过其在体内可能产生的毒性作用，应该为受苦受难的人类所利用。
