The College of Glycation is an educational video series dedicated to helping viewers understand one of the most critical and often overlooked processes in human biology: glycation. Led by Dr. Paul Reynolds, Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology at Brigham Young University, this series explores how sugar interacts with proteins and fats in the body, forming harmful compounds called Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs). These compounds accelerate aging, contribute to chronic diseases, and play a key role in metabolic dysfunction. Each video is designed to break down complex topics into clear, practical insights. Whether you’re a healthcare professional, student, or simply someone seeking to improve your health, this series will give you a deeper understanding of the biological roots of inflammation, insulin resistance, and cellular damage—and what you can do to address them.
Curated by: PaulReynoldsPhD (74 videos)
Topic Glycation and the lungs: why the lung is the proof-of-concept organ for the entire AGE-RAGE story — carrying the highest baseline levels of RAGE in the body, where the same receptor that normally holds your alveoli together becomes the driver of emphysema, asthma, and pulmonary fibrosis when fed sugar damage. Summary Paul Reynolds, biomedical scientist and Professor of Cell Biology, takes us into the organ where the AGE-RAGE axis stops being a hypothesis and becomes undeniable. The lung uniquely expresses RAGE at the highest levels of any tissue from birth, where it normally plays a structural role helping alveolar type I cells flatten and maintain the delicate gas-exchange surface. But when AGEs — whether inhaled from cigarette smoke, e-cigarette vapor, pollution, or generated internally by high blood sugar — engage RAGE, they trigger a powerful feed-forward loop through NF-κB that amplifies inflammation, recruits neutrophils, and destroys lung tissue. RAGE knockout mice are dramatically protected from smoke-induced emphysema, while lower circulating sRAGE strongly predicts worse COPD and emphysema in humans. The same receptor amplifies allergic asthma through HMGB1 and drives pulmonary fibrosis when glycation crosslinks collagen, stiffening the matrix and pushing fibroblasts into scar-producing myofibroblasts. Reynolds shows that cigarette smoke and even e-cigarette flavorings directly activate this pathway, and that the lessons run both ways: the metabolic strategies discussed throughout this series (steady blood sugar, reduced dietary AGEs, and supporting sRAGE) protect the lungs just as powerfully as avoiding inhaled exposures. The lung simply makes the chemistry visible in real time. References and more For complete show notes and references, we invite you to become an Insider subscriber. You'll enjoy a weekly newsletter, premier early access to College of Glycation episodes with full reprints of cited publications, a dedicated College of Glycation question portal with live recorded answers, Paul's Weekly Research Review Podcasts, and more. Learn more: paulreynoldsphd.com Translation Notes You can click the gear icon at the bottom of this video to auto-translate captions. For example, to translate into French, select Subtitles, choose Auto-Translate, then first choose English, then choose Auto-Translate again, then choose French. Timestamps 0:00 Intro to glycation in lungs 0:33 AGEs, RAGE, sRAGE vocabulary 1:10 Lung highest RAGE 2:31 RAGE structural in alveoli 3:55 sRAGE tracks COPD/emphysema 5:52 RAGE knockout protects emphysema 7:19 NF-κB loop 8:46 Smoke activates RAGE 10:49 eCig/pollution via RAGE 12:10 RAGE in asthma 14:07 Glycation in fibrosis 16:16 Lung proves AGE-RAGE 19:01 Protect lungs via metabolism 20:24 Inhaled = fast glycation 21:06 Avoid inhaling AGEs NOTE The information presented is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Paul Reynolds is a biomedical scientist and professor of cell biology, not a licensed clinician. Always seek the advice of your own qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions. #LungHealth #COPD #RAGE #Vaping #RespiratoryHealth #AGERAGE #insulinresistance #Glycation #AGEs #inflammation #OxidativeStress #ROS #Redox #CollegeOfGlycation #Ketodiet #LowCarb #HealthyAging #SugarDamage #HealthyLiving #KetoDiet #LowCarb #HealthPodcast #AntiAging #Nutrition #BiomedicalScience #BloodSugar #Wellness #HealthTips #SciencePodcast #HealthyEating #CellularHealth #Keto #KetoCommunity #HealthEducation Paul’s favorite yerba mate: https://unicity.link/121f260bfe Yerbe mate with a special formulated Balance fiber: https://ufeelgreat.com/c/PaulReynolds Full Metabolic System storefront: https://shop.unicity.com/paulreynolds Paul’s favorite source for clean, earth-sourced essentials such as salt, electrolytes, hydration, pre-workout and more. Go to https://redmond.life and use PAULSALT for 15% discount. Paul’s favorite exogenous ketones: A high-quality option is the NSF-certified goBHB from Clean Form Nutrition, where you can use the code Paul10 for a 10% discount: https://cleanformnutrition.com/products/go-bhb Paul’s favorite allulose source: https://rxsugar.com (discount: PAUL20) Paul’s favorite health check-up for men or women: https://blokes.co/DRPAUL (discount: DRPAUL for 50% off of labs and smart supplements and 15% off all other products)