Type 2 Diabetes in Young Females Results in Increased Serum Amyloid A and Changes to Features of High Density Lipoproteins in Both HDL and HDL.

Persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have an elevated risk of atherosclerosis. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) normally protect against cardiovascular disease (CVD), but this may be attenuated by serum amyloid A (SAA). In a case-control study of young females, blood samples were compared between subjects with T2DM ( = 42) and individuals without T2DM ( = 42). SAA and apolipoprotein AI (apoAI) concentrations, paraoxonase-1 (PON-1), cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activities were measured in the serum and/or HDL and HDL subfractions. SAA concentrations were higher in T2DM compared to controls: serum (30 mg/L (17, 68) versus 15 mg/L (7, 36); = 0.002), HDL (1.0 mg/L (0.6, 2.2) versus 0.4 mg/L (0.2, 0.7); < 0.001), and HDL, (13 mg/L (8, 29) versus 6 mg/L (3, 13); < 0.001). Serum-PON-1 activity was lower in T2DM compared to that in controls (38,245 U/L (7025) versus 41,109 U/L (5690); = 0.043). CETP activity was higher in T2DM versus controls in HDL (232.6 mol/L (14.1) versus 217.1 mol/L (25.1); = 0.001) and HDL (279.5 mol/L (17.7) versus 245.2 mol/L (41.2); < 0.001). These results suggest that individuals with T2DM have increased SAA-related inflammation and dysfunctional HDL features. SAA may prove to be a useful biomarker in T2DM given its association with elevated CVD risk.