In diabetic patients, the metabolism of excess glucose increases the toxicity of the aldehyde group of sugar. Aldehydes, including glyceraldehyde (GA), react with intracellular proteins to form advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), which deteriorate bone quality and cause osteoporosis. One of the causes of osteoporotic fractures is impaired osteoblast osteogenesis; however, the cytotoxic effects of aldehydes and the subsequent formation of AGEs in osteoblasts have not yet been examined in detail. Therefore, the present study investigated the cytotoxicity of intracellular GA and GA-derived AGEs, named toxic AGEs (TAGE), in the mouse osteoblastic cell line MC3T3-E1. Treatment with GA induced MC3T3-E1 cell death, which was accompanied by TAGE modifications in several intracellular proteins. Furthermore, the downregulated expression of Runx2, a transcription factor essential for osteoblast differentiation, and collagen correlated with the accumulation of TAGE. The GA treatment also reduced the normal protein levels of collagen in cells, suggesting that collagen may be modified by TAGE and form an abnormal structure. Collectively, the present results show for the first time that GA and TAGE exert cytotoxic effects in osteoblasts, inhibit osteoblastic differentiation, and decrease the amount of normal collagen. The suppression of GA production and associated accumulation of TAGE has potential as a novel therapeutic target for osteoporosis under hyperglycemic conditions.
Keywords: advanced glycation end-products (AGEs); glyceraldehyde (GA); glyceraldehyde-derived AGEs; osteoblasts; toxic AGEs (TAGE).