Agglutination of red blood cells from patients with diabetes mellitus by a polyclonal human antibody specific for D-glucose.
We have previously described an antibody which will agglutinate red blood cells which had been incubated in vitro in D-glucose. This antibody is specific for the ring form of glucose, beta-D-glucopyranose. The current report demonstrates that without prior in vitro incubation with glucose, red blood cells from 36 of 38 patients with diabetes mellitus, and 7 of 70 patients not diagnosed as diabetic were agglutinated by this antibody. Strength of agglutination of red blood cells from diabetic patients correlated with both glucose (r = 0.61; p less than 0.001) and hemoglobin A1c levels (r = 0.50; p less than 0.01) in simultaneously obtained samples. This reactivity could be reversed by incubating red blood cells from diabetics for several hours in saline. This report suggests that red blood cells from diabetic patients have membrane-bound glucose that can be detected immunologically. Reversibility of the reaction and rapidity of in vitro glycosylation suggests short-term binding of glucose. To our knowledge, this is the first report documenting immunological detection of in vivo short-term reversible binding of glucose to cellular membranes.
Ellisor
S S
SS
American Red Cross Blood Services, Baltimore, Md.
Toy
P T
PT
Reid
M E
ME
Avoy
D R
DR
D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D004903:Erythrocyte Aggregation; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans
D000906:Antibodies; D005947:Glucose