PLASMA CHOLESTERYL ESTER TRANSFER IN PATIENTS WITH NON-INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS

Plasma newly synthesised cholesteryl ester transfer (NCET) rates from high density lipoproteins (HDL) to very low density lipoproteins (VLDL ) and low density lipoproteins (LDL) were measured in 26 patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), 26 healthy subjects with closely matching plasma triglyceride (TG) levels and 10 normolipi daemic healthy individuals. In addition, insulin mediated glucose upta ke was measured in the NIDDM patients and the normolipidaemic subjects . Rates of NCET were significantly (P < 0.05) elevated in NIDDM patien ts compared with healthy normolipidaemic individuals but were similar to rates in healthy subjects with closely matching TG levels. In all g roups of subjects plasma NCET was significantly (P < 0.001) correlated with plasma TG concentration. In NIDDM patients correlations between NCET and plasma glucose (r = 0.489, P = 0.011) independently of plasma TG levels, and glycated haemoglobin levels (r = 0.430, P = 0.028) wer e also recorded. Insulin mediated glucose uptake was unrelated to plas ma NCET rates in the study. These data suggest that in NIDDM patients under good diabetic control elevated plasma NCET rates are mainly due to hypertriglyceridaemia and a specific and possibly stimulatory effec t of diabetes on these rates may be seen only in patients with poorly controlled diabetes.