Concentrations of sphingosine and sphinganine in plasma of patients with type 2 diabetes.
BACKGROUND
Ceramide is the second messenger in the sphingomyelin signaling pathway. It is also synthesized de novo and sphinganine is the key precursor in this pathway. Ceramide is hydrolyzed to sphingosine. Both sphingosine and sphinganine have been shown to be present in the blood. The aim of the present study was to examine the concentrations of sphingosine and sphinganine in the plasma of patients with Type 2 diabetes.


METHODS
Blood was obtained from 15 patients with Type 2 diabetes treated at the outpatient division of the Ward for Internal Diseases, Endocrinology, and Diabetes of the Białystok Regional Hospital. Control blood samples were obtained from 11 healthy persons recruited from among the staff of the hospital. The concentrations of both compounds were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography.


RESULTS
It was found that in the group of patients the concentrations of plasma sphingosine and sphinganine were elevated compared with the healthy control subjects (by 55 and 45%, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Increased concentrations of plasma sphingosine and sphinganine indicate that the rate of ceramide metabolism in the cells of patients with Type 2 diabetes is elevated.
Górska
Maria
M
Department of Gerontology, Medical Academy of Bialystok, Białystok, Poland.
Dobrzyń
Agnieszka
A
Baranowski
Marcin
M
D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013110:Sphingosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism
D001786:Blood Glucose; D002784:Cholesterol; D013110:Sphingosine; C005682:safingol