Pyridoxamine prevents age-related aortic stiffening and vascular resistance in association with reduced collagen glycation.

An increase in oxidative chemical modifications of tissue proteins by advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and advanced lipoxidation end products (ALEs) has been implicated in normal aging. Pyridoxamine (PM), one of the three natural forms of vitamin B(6), has been identified as an inhibitor of AGE/ALE products formed during the autoxidation of carbohydrates and peroxidation of lipids. The current study seeks to determine whether PM intervention could prevent the age-related aortic stiffening and vascular resistance through its ability to inhibit the pathogenic cross-linking of glycated collagen. Male Fisher 344 rats at 15 months were treated daily with PM (1 g l(-1) in drinking water) for 5 months and compared with the age-matched, untreated controls at 20 months. Pulsatile aortic pressure and flow signals were measured to perform the vascular impedance analysis. The anti-AGE antibody 6D12 was used to detect glycation-derived modification of aortic collagen, using protein blotting analysis. PM therapy attenuated the age-related increase in total peripheral resistance. An increase in wave transit time and aortic compliance by PM indicated that the drug improved aortic distensibility of the aged vasculature. This paralleled its reduction of AGE-collagen cross-links on aortas. Treatment of the old animals with PM also prevented the age-induced augmentation in vascular load imposed on the heart, as evidenced by an increased wave transit time and a decreased wave reflection factor. These findings suggest a partial role of PM in improving arterial mechanics by targeting the pathogenic formation of AGE-induced aortic collagen cross-links in old rats.