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(October 15, 2015) A
synthetic process developed at Yale University will allow researchers to study
a key molecule involved in diabetes, inflammation, and human aging.
The new process synthesizes glucosepane, which is considered
a critical chemical link in both diabetes and aging. It is also an independent
risk factor for long-term microvascular complications in diabetes.
In a study published this week in the journal Science, senior
author David Spiegel and his colleagues describe the new synthesis, as well as
a new synthetic methodology, which may have applications beyond the current
research.
“Glucosepane forms in all human beings during the aging
process, and also forms during various diseases, including diabetes,” said
Spiegel, a professor of chemistry and pharmacology at Yale. “It is unknown what
role glucosepane might play in aging and in these diseases, but several
hypotheses have been proposed. With access to synthetic glucosepane, we will
now be able to generate tools to examine the role this molecule plays in human
health and also, perhaps, develop molecules to inhibit or reverse its formation.”
Until now, it has been difficult to study glucosepane
effectively. There is a scarcity of chemically homogeneous glucosepane
available for scientists to examine — due to its unusual structure and
properties — and researchers have been forced to rely on time-consuming
extraction protocols to obtain usable material.
Glucosepane contains a rare isomer of imidazole, which has
never before been observed in natural molecules, other than those in the
glucosepane family. Spiegel and his colleagues developed a new methodology for
synthesizing this imidazole form. The process requires only eight steps.