Accelerated Cholesteryl Ester Transfer and Altered Lipoprotein Composition in Diabetic Cynomolgus Monkeys

To determine whether nonhuman primates demonstrate the same alterations in transport of cholesteryl ester (CE) in plasma observed in diabetic humans, cholesteryl ester transfer (CET) was measured in cynomolgus monkeys with chronic spontaneous diabetes mellitus (glycated hemoglobin: diabetics 10.7 +/- 4.1%; controls 3.8 +/- 0.8%, P < 0.005). Among the plasma lipids, only triglycerides were significantly increased in diabetic monkeys (diabetics 303 +/- 294 mg/dl; controls 85 +/- 34 mg/dl; P < 0.05); total plasma, LDL, HDL2, and HDL3 cholesterol concentrations did not differ significantly from those of control animals. Similar to human beings with insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, CET estimated both as the mass of cholesteryl ester transferred from HDL to the apoB-containing lipoproteins (VLDL + LDL) and as the loss of radiolabeled cholesteryl ester from HDL was significantly greater (P < 0.001) in diabetic compared to control monkeys. Glycated hemoglobin levels in the combined control and diabetic groups correlated directly with both the mass of cholesteryl ester transferred at 2 h (r = 0.75; P < 0.001) and the isotopic transfer (k) (r = 0.64; P < 0.005). The mass of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) tended to be higher in the diabetic animals (diabetic 4.06 +/- 0.73 microgram/ml versus control 3.05 +/- 0.93; P < 0.1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)