{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T15:21:55Z","timestamp":1789658515615,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,17]],"date-time":"2020-01-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1579219200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"National Research Foundation of Korea","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2018R1D1A1B07049500"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2018R1D1A1B07049500"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Methylglyoxal (MGO), a highly reactive dicarbonyl compound, is a key precursor of the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). MGO and MGO-AGEs were reportedly increased in patients with diabetic dysfunction, including diabetic nephropathy. The activation of glyoxalase-I (GLO-I) increases MGO and MGO-AGE detoxification. MGO-mediated glucotoxicity can also be ameliorated by MGO scavengers such as N-acetylcysteine (NAC), aminoguanidine (AG), and metformin. In this study, we noted that l-cysteine demonstrated protective effects against MGO-induced glucotoxicity in renal mesangial cells. l-cysteine prevented MGO-induced apoptosis and necrosis, together with a reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in MES13 cells. Interestingly, l-cysteine significantly reduced MGO-AGE formation and also acted as an MGO-AGE crosslink breaker. Furthermore, l-cysteine treatment accelerated MGO catabolism to D-lactate via the upregulation of GLO-I. The reduction of AGE formation and induction of AGE breakdown, following l-cysteine treatment, further supports the potential use of l-cysteine as an alternative for the therapeutic control of MGO-induced renal complications in diabetes, especially against diabetic nephropathy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells9010234","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,17]],"date-time":"2020-01-17T07:39:02Z","timestamp":1579246742000},"page":"234","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":20,"title":["Effect of Cysteine on Methylglyoxal-Induced Renal Damage in Mesangial Cells"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4304-0198","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jae Hyuk","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, #191, Hambakmoero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21936, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lalita","family":"Subedi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, #191, Hambakmoero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21936, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8044-5613","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sun Yeou","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, #191, Hambakmoero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21936, Korea"},{"name":"Gachon Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, Gachon University, #191 Hambakmoe-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21936, Korea"},{"name":"Gachon Medical Research Institute, Gil Medical Center, Incheon 21565, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wetzels, S., Wouters, K., Schalkwijk, C.G., Vanmierlo, T., and Hendriks, J.J. 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