Changes of plasma proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract:

Objective：To investigate the changes of serum plasma proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9（PCSK9） levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus（T2DM） and to explore its relationship with body mass index（BMI），waist hip ratio（WHR），fasting blood glucose（FBG），glycosylated hemoglobin（HbA1c） as well as other factors. Methods：Fasting serum PCSK9 levels in T2DM（n=54） and normal controls（n=58） were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. Relationship between serum PCSK9 levels，and BMI，waist circumference，hip circumference，WHR，FBG，HbA1c were also analyzed. Results：（1）Fasting serum PCSK9 levels in T2DM patients were significantly higher than those in the normal control group[（260.53±141.70） ng/mL vs. （123.74 ± 73.50） ng/mL，P=0.000]. （2）Correlation studies showed that serum PCSK9 levels were positively correlated with BMI，waist circumference，hip cir－cumference，WHR，FBG and HbA1c in the whole study population（r=0.403，r=0.305，r=0.217，r=0.257，r=0.397，r=0.426，P＜0.05），serum PCSK9 levels were positively correlated with BMI，waist circumference，hip circumference，WHR，FBG and HbA1c in the fe－male group（r=0.509，r=0.328，r=0.244，r=0.275，r=0.472，r=0.394，P＜0.05） and positively correlated with waist circumference，FBG and HbA1c in male group（r=0.346，r=0.335，r=0.515，P＜0.05）. （3）Multivariate stepwise regression analysis showed that BMI and HbA1c were independent related factors influencing serum PCSK9 levels in the whole study population. Waist circumference and HbA1c were independent related factors in male group，BMI and FBG were independent related factors in female group. Conclusion：Serum PCSK9 levels are associated with glucose metabolism，and they may contribute，in part，to the pathogenesis of T2DM.