Effect of vitamin B12 treatment on haptocorrin.
BACKGROUND
Haptocorrin (HC) carries the major part of circulating cobalamin, but whether HC is altered on treatment with vitamin B12 remains unknown.


METHODS
Our study included 3 populations: a population of vegan men (n = 174; vegan population), of whom 63 were treated daily with 5 mg of oral vitamin B12 for 3 months; a group of patients with a previous methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentration >0.4 micromol/L (n = 140; population with suspected deficiency), of which 69 were treated with weekly vitamin B12 injections (1 mg) for 4 weeks; and a subgroup of participants in a vitamin B intervention study (n = 88; nondeficient population), of whom 45 were treated daily with 0.4 mg of oral vitamin B12 for 3 months. Total HC and holoHC were measured by ELISA. Cobalamin was measured by an intrinsic factor (IF)-based assay. Samples were collected at baseline and 3 months after start of treatment.


RESULTS
Compared with baseline results for the 3 study populations, total HC and holoHC increased 30 pmol/L for every 100 pmol/L increase in cobalamin. After treatment with vitamin B12, holoHC (P <0.0001) and total HC (P <0.0001) increased significantly in the vegan population. Only holoHC increased in the population with suspected deficiency (P <0.0001), whereas no alteration was observed in the nondeficient population.


CONCLUSIONS
The HC concentration is decreased in severely cobalamin-deficient individuals and increases on treatment. The concentration of cobalamin also relates significantly to the HC concentration in nondeficient individuals.
Mørkbak
Anne L
AL
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Aarhus Sygehus, Denmark. almor@as.aaa.dk
Hvas
Anne-Mette
AM
Lloyd-Wright
Zouë
Z
Sanders
Tom A B
TA
Bleie
Oyvind
O
Refsum
Helga
H
Nygaard
Ottar K
OK
Nexø
Ebba
E
D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D014676:Diet, Vegetarian; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D014155:Transcobalamins / Q000378:metabolism*; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014806:Vitamin B 12 Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014803:Vitamin B Complex / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D015415:Biomarkers; D014155:Transcobalamins; D014803:Vitamin B Complex; D014805:Vitamin B 12