Reducing sugars trigger oxidative modification and apoptosis in pancreatic beta-cells by provoking oxidative stress through the glycation reaction.

Several reducing sugars brought about apoptosis in isolated rat pancreatic islet cells and in the pancreatic beta-cell-derived cell line HIT. This apoptosis was characterized biochemically by inter-nucleosomal DNA cleavage and morphologically by nuclear shrinkage, chromatin condensation and apoptotic body formation. N-Acetyl-L-cysteine, an antioxidant, and aminoguanidine, an inhibitor of the glycation reaction, inhibited this apoptosis. We also showed directly that proteins in beta-cells were actually glycated by using an antibody which can specifically recognize proteins glycated by fructose, but not by glucose. Furthermore, fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis using dichlorofluorescein diacetate showed that reducing sugars increased intracellular peroxide levels prior to the induction of apoptosis. Levels of carbonyl, an index of oxidative modification, and of malondialdehyde, a lipid peroxidation product, were also increased. Taken together, these results suggest that reducing sugars trigger oxidative modification and apoptosis in pancreatic beta-cells by provoking oxidative stress mainly through the glycation reaction, which may explain the deterioration of beta-cells under conditions of diabetes.