Serum levels of advanced glycation end products are increased in patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether serum levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and the glycoxidation product Nepsilon-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) are increased in patients with type 2 diabetes compared with nondiabetic control subjects and whether levels of AGEs and/or CML differ in patients with type 2 diabetes with or without coronary heart disease (CHD).


METHODS
Serum levels of AGEs and CML were measured with an immunoassay in 32 men and 21 women aged 59.3+/-6.2 years (means +/- SD) with type 2 diabetes for 7.3 + 3.1 years and in 17 men and 17 women aged 56.2+/-4.2 years without diabetes. Of the patients with diabetes, 18 had CHD.


RESULTS
The serum levels of AGEs and CML were significantly increased in patients with type 2 diabetes compared with nondiabetic control subjects (median [5th-95th percentile]: AGEs 7.4 [4.4-10.9] vs. 4.2 [1.6-6.4] U/ml, P < 0.0001; CML 15.6 [5.6-29.9] vs. 8.6 [4.4-25.9] U/ml, P < 0.0001). The median level of AGEs but not CML was significantly increased in patients with type 2 diabetes and CHD compared with patients without CHD (8.1 [6.4-10.9] vs. 7.1 [3.5-9.8] U/ml, P = 0.03). There were significant positive correlations between serum levels of AGEs and CML in both patients and control subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
Levels of AGEs and CML were significantly increased in patients with type 2 diabetes compared with nondiabetic control subjects, and levels of AGEs but not CML were significantly higher in patients with type 2 diabetes and CHD than in patients without diabetes. These results may indicate a role for non-CML AGEs in the development of macrovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Kilhovd
B K
BK
Aker Diabetes Research Centre, Department of Endocrinology, Aker University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. b.k.kilhovd@ioks.uio.no
Berg
T J
TJ
Birkeland
K I
KI
Thorsby
P
P
Hanssen
K F
KF
D000368:Aged; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood*; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000097:blood*; D000939:Epitopes / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008239:Lysine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors
D000939:Epitopes; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; C048496:N(6)-carboxymethyllysine; D008239:Lysine