Methylglyoxal is involved in the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). In this process, methylglyoxal reacts with free amino groups of lysine and arginine and with thiol groups of cysteine forming AGEs. Histones are also heavily susceptible to modification by methylglyoxal and these modifications are elevated in breast cancer.
DNA damages are induced by reactive carbonyls, principally methylglyoxal and glyoxal, at a frequency similar to that of oxidative DNA damages.  Such damage, referred to as DNA glycation, can cause mutation, breaks in DNA and cytotoxicity.  In humans, a protein DJ-1 (also named PARK7), has a key role in the repair of glycated DNA bases.