Carboxymethyl Lysine (CML)

Glycoxidation products are a subset of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) that are formed by the nonenzymatic glycation and subsequent irreversible oxidation of proteins.

Carboxymethyl lysine (CML) is a well-characterized glycoxidation product that accumulates in tissues with age, and its rate of accumulation is accelerated in diabetes. CML is now known to be formed from the oxidation of both carbohydrates and lipids, making it a biomarker of general oxidative stress. Oxidative stress and resultant protein modification have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the chronic complications of diabetes, including nephropathy and atherosclerosis . The accumulation of CML in long-lived tissue such as skin collagen reflects oxidative stress over an extended period of the life-span, and has been shown to be greater in patients with diabetic complications than those without complications.