Leukocyte lipids in diabetes mellitus

ABSTRACT

The lipid composition and the activities of cholesterol ester hydrolase [CEH] and cholesterol ester synthetic [CES] in the leukocytes of type I and type II diabetic patients and age and sex matched non diabetic healthy subjects were determined. The mean values of fasting plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin of type I patients were 201 +/- 39mg/dl and 11.7 +/- 2.48% respectively. The respective values of the type II patients were 176 +/- 39 mg/dl and 11.34 +/- 2.1%. The levels of cholesterol, phospholipids and triglycerides in the plasma as well as in the leukocytes of the diabetic patients were significantly higher than those of the age and sex matched non-diabetic subjects [p <0.001]. In the diabetic patients, the activity of leukocyte CEH decreased significantly [p <0.001], while the activity of CES increase significantly [p <0.001] as compared with the non-diabetic counterparts. As expected, this resulted in a decrease in the ratio CEH/CES in diabetic patients. The increased levels of lipid components and a decrease in the CEH/CES ratio of the leukocytes might be considered as an important step in the genesis of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease in diabetes mellitus