Background and Aims : Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and atherogenic dyslipidaemia (AD) are at higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) so interest in discovering inflammation biomarkers as indicators of processes related to CVD progression is increasing. This study aims to characterize the plasma glycoprotein profile of a cohort of 504 participants including patients with and without T2DM and/or AD and controls.
Methods: We characterized plasma glycoprotein profile by using 1H-NMR. We characterized the NMR glycoprotein signals (GlycA and GlycB) which is related to the concentration and aggregation state of the acetyl groups of N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine and N-acetylneuraminic bond to plasma proteins. The lipoprotein profile was also determined (Liposcale®). Standard clinical and anthropometric measurements were determined. Multivariate classification models were developed to study differences between the study groups.
Results: Reduced HDL-C levels, increased small dense LDL and elevated TG levels were significantly associated with glycoprotein variables. Glycoprotein values in the diagnostic groups were significantly different from those in the CT groups. AD and DM conditions together contribute to a positive and significant synergetic effect on the GlycA area (<0.05) and the H/W ratios of GlycA (<0.01) and GlycB (<0.05). By adding the new glycoprotein variables to the inflammation C-reactive protein marker, the AUC increased sharply for classification models between the CT group and the rest (0.68 to 0.84), patients with and without dyslipidemia (0.54 to 0.86), and between patients with and without diabetes (0.55 to 0.75).
Conclusions: 1H-NMR-derived glycoproteins can be used as possible markers of the degree of inflammation associated with T2DM and AD.
