title: Time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence spectroscopic studies of the human lens with comparison to argpyrimidine, pentosidine and 3-OH-kynurenine.
abstract: The intrinsic fluorescence from the human lens on excitation in the UV region, referred to as blue lens autofluorescence, increases with age or in the presence of diabetes. The present study reveals that the relative contribution of compounds responsible for the blue autofluorescence appears to be a constant with age. Three potential candidates for the blue fluorescence were also studied with respect to fluorescence spectroscopic properties. These were argpyrimidine and pentosidine, both advanced glycation end products, and 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-OH-kynurenine), a photooxidative derivative of tryptophan. It was shown that the spectral properties of argpyrimidine and pentosidine are compatible with the observed blue fluorescence of the human lens, whereas the fluorescence from 3-OH-kynurenine is negligible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Herlev Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Herlev, Denmark. line.kessel@dadlnet.dk
authors.forename: Line
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kessel
authors.forename: Stanislav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kalinin
authors.forename: Ram H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Nagaraj
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.forename: Lennart B A
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Johansson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001120:Arginine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D005453:Fluorescence; D006801:Humans; D007737:Kynurenine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry*; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000737:chemistry*; D008239:Lysine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009952:Ornithine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry*; D010777:Photochemistry; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000737:chemistry*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D011743:Pyrimidines; C107313:argpyrimidine; C005045:3-hydroxykynurenine; D007737:Kynurenine; D001120:Arginine; C062187:pentosidine; D009952:Ornithine; D008239:Lysine