Research Information System
Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences, vol.26, no.2, pp.143-147, 1996 (SCI-Expanded)
LDL sialic acid content may determine its atherogenic capacity affecting its binding to arterial proteoglycans. Because diabetic nephropathy predicts the development of coronary heart disease (CHD), we investigated whethere LDL sialic acid content is affected in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients with microalbuminuria and clinical proteinuria. LDL sialic acid concentration and plasma glucose, creatinine, HbA1 lipid and lipoprotein levels were determined from fasting blood samples in 25 healthy subjects, 25 IDDM patients with a normal albumin excretion rate, 25 patients with microalbuminuria and 25 patients with clinical proteinuria. The patient group were matched for age, sex, BMI, HbA1 levels and duration of diabetes. The control and patient groups had normal resting electrocardiograms and no major illness or acute inflammatory disease. LDL sialic acid concentration was found to be statistically lower (p < 0.001) in the microalbuminuric group (14.4 ± 2.3 μg/mg of protein) compared with the normalbuminuric patients (19.7 ± 3.1 μg/mg of protein) and healthy subjects (19.9 ± 2.8 μg/mg of protein). Additionally, sialic acid level was also significantly lower (p < 0.005) in the LDL of patients with clinical proteinuria (12.1 ± 3.0 μg/mg of protein). Additionally, sialic acid level was also significantly lower (p < 0.005) in the LDL of patients with clinical proteinuria (12.1 ± 3.0 μg/mg of protein) than in the LDL of patients with microalbuminuria. LDL sialic acid content was not correlated independently with age, BMI, duration of diabetes, plasma glucose, creatinine, cholesterol, triglyceride or HbA1 levels. These results suggest that desialylated LDL in the plasma of patients with microalbuminuria or clinical proteinuria may be responsible in part for increased CHD risk observed in these patients.