Methylglyoxal and the glyoxalase pathway

Dr. Paul J. Thornalley's Group at QBRI works primarily on mechanisms of the development of vascular complications of diabetes (nephropathy, retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy and increased risk of cardiovascular disease) – particularly the contribution of increased methylglyoxal or ‘dicarbonyl stress’ to the underlying cell and tissue dysfunction.

In clinical translation, Dr. Thornally's research focuses on:

(i) Biomarkers for assessing risk of development of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and progression of vascular complications of diabetes.

(ii) Development of novel therapeutic agents for treatment – for example, glyoxalase 1 inducers. Other research focuses on the mechanism of methylglyoxal-induced tumour cell death, its role in cancer chemotherapy and link to Glo1 overexpression-linked multidrug resistance.