Multiphoton imaging of the formation of fluorescent advanced glycation end products in tissues

The formation and accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) contribute to diabetic complications such as retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, and cardiovascular diseases. Proteins would be attended a series of complex and chain biochemical actions to produce AGEs, some of which are fluorescent. In our study, we investigated the effects of glucose, fructose, and galactose in tissue glycation. Excised porcine tissues including corneas, tendons, skin (dermis), aortas, and kidney were treated in the D-glucose, D-galactose, and D-fructose solutions, and multiphoton microscopy was performed on the glycated tissue specimens. We found that the rate of fAGE formation from fructose was the highest. Moreover, the rate of fAGE formation differs among the studied tissues.