This research published in the journal Physical Review Letters highlights a harmful physiological phenomenon due to high blood sugar. This sugar concentration damages the elastic proteins essential for the proper functioning of the heart and lungs, blood circulation and respiration. Indeed, when they are overexposed to sugars, they no longer fulfill their role of protecting tissues. Arteries, muscles, tissues harden and deteriorate.
This is because when researchers treat elastin with glucose, they see an interaction between sugar and proteins that resembles a natural process called glycation, whereby sugar molecules attach themselves to proteins, degrading their structure and their function. Glycation occurs naturally as we age and is associated with a number of conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and arteriosclerosis.
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