Interaction of glycyl-phenylalanine with carbohydrates as a model of N-terminal glycation of proteins.

Glycation is thought to be a factor in the development of cataract in elderly and diabetic patients. In this report, we describe our initial investigations on the reaction of the dipeptide glycyl-phenylalanine (GF) with different carbonyl compounds as a model of protein glycation. The results obtained demonstrate that the interaction of GF with carbohydrates has features in common with glycation of lens membrane proteins and lens crystallins.