MINI REVIEW article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Diabetes: Molecular Mechanisms
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1618984
Targeting Advanced Glycation End Products: Potential Therapeutic Approaches for Mitigating Diabetic Intervertebral Disc Degeneration?
Provisionally accepted
- 1First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- 2Ganzhou People's Hospital, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, China
- 3Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
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Diabetes mellitus is strongly associated with accelerated intervertebral disc degeneration, a condition that significantly contributes to lower back pain and reduced quality of life. Emerging evidence indicates that advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are key mediators in the pathophysiology of disc degeneration through the stimulation of inflammatory pathways, promotion of oxidative stress, and induction of extracellular matrix modifications. This review critically examines current literature on the role of AGEs in diabetic disc degeneration and evaluates potential therapeutic interventions aimed at mitigating these deleterious effects. Targeting AGEs represents a promising therapeutic avenue to mitigate diabetic intervertebral disc degeneration. The current evidence supports the rationale for further investigation into AGE inhibitors, cross-link breakers, and receptor for AGEs modulators as potential treatment strategies. However, to translate these findings into clinical practice, well-designed clinical trials are required to validate the efficacy and safety of these interventions, as well as to optimize treatment protocols.
Keywords: Advanced glycation end products, Diabetes Mellitus, Intervertebral Disc Degeneration, Therapeutic target, ages
Received: 27 Apr 2025; Accepted: 20 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Shao, Wu and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Haiyang Wu, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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