Advanced glycation endproducts, formed in vivo, but also by the Maillard reaction upon thermal treatment of foods, have been associated with the progression of pathological conditions such as diabetes mellitus. In addition to the accumulation with age, exogenous AGEs are introduced into the circulation from dietary sources. In this study, we investigated the effects of addition of free NÏ”âcarboxymethyllysine (CML), a wellâcharacterized product of the Maillard reaction, on adipogenesis in 3T3âL1 preadipocytes. Treatment with 5, 50, or 500âÎŒM CML resulted in increased lipid accumulation to similar extents, by 11.5â±â12.6%, 12.9â±â8.6%, and 12.8â±â8.5%, respectively. Longâterm treatment with 500âÎŒM CML during adipogenesis resulted in increases in miRâ103 and miRâ143 levels, two miRNAs described to be involved in impaired glucose homeostasis and increased lipid accumulation. Furthermore, the expression of genes associated with these miRNAs, consisting of Akt1, PI3k, and Cav1 was regulated by CML. Shortâterm treatment of mature 3T3âL1 adipocytes with CML resulted in decreased basal glucose uptake. These results, indicate that the addition of proteinâfree CML to 3T3âL1 cells influence parameters associated with adipogenesis and glucose homeostasis at transcriptional, and functional level; this indicates that free CML derived from exogenous sources, in addition to proteinâbound CML may be relevant in this context. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 2413â2422, 2016. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.