Bloedglucose bevordert lipoproteïne(a) oxidatie

Blood glucose levels influence the oxidization of lipoprotein(a), a molecule with potent atherosclerotic properties, research has found.

The study was undertaken by Kazuhiko Kotani (Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan) and co-workers and aimed to investigate the association between circulating levels of oxidized Lp(a) [oxLp(a)] and cardiometabolic variables. The study participants were 70 healthy women with a mean age of 22 years. Serum oxLp(a) was measured using enzyme-linked immunoassay.

Writing in Lipids in Health and Disease, Kotani et al report that glucose levels were significantly and positively correlated with oxLp(a), with an r-value of 0.313. Indeed, after adjusting for age and a raft of potential confounders, glucose was the only significant and independent predictor for oxLp(a) levels. Neither Lp(a) nor oxLp(a) were associated with measures of atherosclerosis such as cardio-ankle vascular index or carotid intima-media thickness, the researchers remark.

"A more important finding is the significant positive and independent correlation between glucose and oxLp(a), not Lp(a), in the absence of defined hyperglycemia," they write. "The present findings suggest that Lp(a) may be oxidized with an increase in blood glucose concentration even within the normal range."

They say that increased blood glucose may promote the oxidative capacity of modification of proteins and lipids, although it is unclear whether lower blood glucose levels are preferable even in normogloycemic individuals, in order to avoid the oxidization of Lp(a).

"Further research is warranted top confirm this theory," the team concludes.