Matrix Aging and Aneurysm

During their biological life, proteins undergo molecular aging due to many non-enzymatic post-translational modifications that alter their structural and functional properties. These reactions concern all proteins but especially tissue proteins (whose half-life in the organism can be several decades) and lead to the formation of complex products called PTMDPs ("post-translational modification derived products"). Molecular aging is responsible for the alteration of protein properties which may cause changes in mechanical properties of tissues during aging and pathologies. However, the involvement of these processes in vivo remains unclear, particularly in the aneurysmal pathology. So, the aim of this study is to determine whether the molecular aging of matrix proteins within the vessel wall may participate in the development of aortic aneurysm.