Relationship between HDL subclass distribution and plasma glucose and lipid levels in patients with metabolic syndrome

AIM: To investigate high-density lipoprotein(HDL) subclass distribution and to analyze the relationship between HDL subclasses with plasma glucose and lipids in metabolic syndrome(MS). METHODS: Apolipoprotein A-I(apoA-I) contents of plasma HDL subclasses were determined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis associated with immunodetection. The concentrations of lipids and apolipoproteins in the plasma were measured by an automated biochemical analyzer. RESULTS: Compared with the controls, the levels of fasting plasma glucose(FPG), total cholesterol(TC), triglyceride(TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), LDL-C/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), apolipoprotein B₁₀₀(apoB₁₀₀), apoB₁₀₀/apoA-I, systolic blood pressure(SBP), body mass index(BMI) and HDL_3b were increased in the MS patients(P<0.05). Meanwhile, HDL-C, apoA-I and preβ₂-HDL, HDL_2a and HDL_2b were decreased in the MS patients(P<0.01). With the increase in the plasma glucose level, the contents of HDL_2a and HDL_2b were decreased in the MS patients(P<0.05), while preβ₁-HDL was increased(P<0.05). With the decrease in the HDL-C level, the content of HDL_2b was decreased in the MS patients(P<0.01), while preβ₁-HDL was increased(P<0.01). With the increase in the TG level and the decrease in the HDL-C level, the content of HDL_2b had a decreasing trend and the content of small-particle preβ₁-HDL had an increasing trend, indicating that HDL maturation metabolism was disrupted. The correlation analysis showed that FPG was negatively correlated with the levels of HDL_2a and HDL_2b, HDL-C was negatively correlated with the level of preβ₁-HDL and positively correlated with the level of HDL_2b, and TG was positively correlated with the levels of preβ₁-HDL and HDL_3b. CONCLUSION: With the increases in the plasma glucose and TG, and the decrease in HDL-C in the MS patients, HDL particles have minifying tendency, and the maturation metabolism of HDL particles is disrupted.