Elsevier

Metabolism

Volume 46, Issue 1, January 1997, Pages 59-61
Metabolism

Sialic acid, diabetes, and aging: A study on the erythrocyte membrane

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0026-0495(97)90168-2Get rights and content

Abstract

Sialic acid (SA) content and Na+K+-ATPase activity of red blood cell (RBC) membranes were studied in 26 normoalbuminuric patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), 25 normoalbuminuric patients with non—insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), and 40 healthy nondiabetic subjects with a negative family history for diabetes. A decrease in RBC membrane SA content and Na+K+-ATPase activity was observed in older control subjects compared with younger controls. A significant correlation between age, Na+K+-ATPase activity, and SA content was also found. No difference was observed in RBC membrane SA content between IDDM and NIDDM subjects, but Na+K+-ATPase activity was significantly lower in IDDM patients. SA content was increased in NIDDM subjects compared with healthy subjects of similar age, whereas Na+K+ATPase activity was significantly lower in both IDDM and NIDDM subjects compared with controls. In NIDDM, Na+K+-ATPase activity was significantly correlated with age, whereas both Na+K+-ATPase activity and SA content were significantly correlated in IDDM and NIDDM patients. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels did not show any significant correlation either with Na+K+-ATPase or with SA content in diabetic patients. The modified SA content and Na+K+-ATPase activity in elderly subjects described in the present study indicate a similar behavior of the erythrocyte membrane during both RBC senescence and aging of subjects.

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Supported by a grant from the Ferrero Foundation (L.M.).

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