Advanced glycation of rat liver histone octamers: an in vitro study.

The question whether histones could accumulate AGE products and whether this reaction could take place even on the native histone octamer, the basic nucleosome unit, was addressed in this study. In vitro AGE formation on rat liver native histones octamers by incubation with different sugars was assessed. We provide evidence for the in vitro formation of both pentosidine and total AGE fluorescence on histone octamers in a time and sugar concentration dependent fashion. Ketoses (D-fructose and D-ribose) were more potent than aldoses. D-glucose-6-phosphate was three times as effective as D-glucose in generating AGE fluorescence. Advanced glycation of histone octamers led to the formation of cross links. For all sugars included in this study a similar pattern was observed: H2A and H3 bands disappear from electrophoretic runs.