Maillard Reaction versus Other Nonenzymatic Modifications in Neurodegenerative Processes

Nonenzymatic protein modifications are generated from direct oxidation of amino acid side chains and from reaction of the nucleophilic side chains of specific amino acids with reactive carbonyl species. These reactions give rise to specific markers that have been analyzed in different neurodegenerative diseases sharing protein aggregation, such as Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease, Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Collectively, available data demonstrate that oxidative stress homeostasis, mitochondrial function, and energy metabolism are key factors in determining the disease‐specific pattern of protein molecular damage. In addition, these findings suggest the lack of a “gold marker of oxidative stress,” and, consequently, they strengthen the need for a molecular dissection of the nonenzymatic reactions underlying neurodegenerative processes.