What is Glycation?

Glycation is the covalent attachment of a sugar to a protein or lipid. Typical sugars that participate in glycation are glucose, fructose, and their derivatives. Glycation is the non-enzymatic process responsible for many complications in diabetes mellitus and is implicated in some diseases and in aging. Glycation end products are believed to play a causative role in the vascular complications of diabetes mellitus.

In contrast with glycation, glycosylation is the enzyme-mediated ATP-dependent attachment of sugars to protein or lipid. Glycosylation occurs at defined sites on the target molecule. It is a common form of post-translational modification of proteins and is required for the functioning of the mature protein.