A sensitive and specific ELISA for plasma pentosidine

Background. Advanced glycation end products are formed by non-enzymatic glycation and oxidation reaction. Pentosidine is a well-known and characterized structure among them, and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of complications associated with chronic renal failure and long-term dialysis, such as dialysis-related amyloidosis and atherosclerosis. Methods. We established a highly sensitive and specific competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for plasma pentosidine and applied it to large numbers of plasma samples including haemodialysis (HD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. We compared their plasma pentosidine levels determined by the competitive ELISA with those determined by high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay currently used. Results. The plasma pentosidine levels determined by the ELISA were correlated well with those determined by sophisticated instrumental HPLC assay, both in non-diabetic and diabetic dialysis patients. Both analyses yielded comparable results, with over 8-fold higher plasma pentosidine levels in HD and CAPD patients, irrespective of the presence or absence of diabetes, as compared to normal subjects and non-uraemic diabetic patients. Conclusions. The competitive ELISA will provide a rapid and convenient determination of plasma pentosidine content and thus be useful to assess the carbonyl stress in uraemic patients.