Figure 5.

Advanced glycation end-product (AGE) pathological effects. Most of AGE effects are dependent on the interaction AGE/RAGE (receptor of AGE) and the activation of transduction pathways. However, AGEs can bind non-RAGE proteins, and interestingly, RAGE can be activated by other ligands. AGE interactions with membrane receptors trigger various ROS-mediated signalling pathways that converge on NF-κB activation and transcriptional regulation of genes, which impairs cell function. The proteolytic cleavage of extracellular RAGE originates circulating peptides referred as soluble RAGE (sRAGE). It is believed that sRAGEs act as decoy receptors, which scavenge circulating AGEs, preventing them from binding functional membrane RAGE and inducing cellular responses.