Pamela Sheahan, a PhD Student in the Free Radical Group, won a travel grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the Macquarie Group enabling her to present her research at the recent 10th International Symposium on the Maillard Reaction in Queensland, Australia.

Pam's study entitled, Inhibition of NADPH-producing enzymes by methylglyoxal in vitro, investigates the role of reactive aldehydes derived from sugars upon the cells lining the arteries in the heart. Methylglyoxal is one of these aldehydes, and is even more efficient than glucose at glycating proteins. This is a process where sugars or aldehydes react with proteins, potentially altering their function. Methylglyoxal and its breakdown products are found in increased amounts in blood and tissue from people with poorly controlled diabetes, and these people can develop an accelerated form of atherosclerosis (the accumulation of fats within arteries that leads to heart disease). Pam's PhD project aims to determine whether cells lining the coronary arteries of the heart are damaged by exposure to reactive aldehydes such as methylglyoxal, thereby contributing to the development of atherosclerosis.

Through a series of experiments, Pam was able to discover that high concentrations of methylglyoxal altered the activity of some critical enzymes that produce an essential coenzyme. This coenzyme is used in turn by antioxidant systems, as well as being essential for the maintenance of normal blood pressure and for making fatty acids and cholesterol. These pathways are dysregulated in diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Understanding the effects of hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar levels) on cells is an important part of finding ways to treat or prevent the complications of diabetes, including heart disease.

The Maillard meeting brought together international researchers whose focus is on the glycation reactions between sugars and amino acids of proteins in both biomedicine and food technology. Pam was able to gain a broad overview of the research that is currently being done in this particular field, and specific ideas and directions that are being followed by other groups with a variety of expertise and perspectives. It provided an opportunity to hear presentations by prominent researchers from all over the globe as well as contribute to the research that is currently aiming at reversing the global impact of heart disease.