ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Zinc α2-glycoprotein (ZAG) is a single-chain polypeptide with molecular weight of 40-kDa, and is secreted from various tissues. It plays several imperative functions in the human body, such as lipid mobilization and immunoregulation. ZAG enhances lipolysis and is involved in reduction of fatty acids in adipose tissues. ZAG has High sequence similarity to MHC-I molecules and is suggested to be a truncated secretory MHC-I–like protein. Thus, ZAG is considered to be a member of immunoglobulin superfamily and therefore seems to have a role in the immunomodulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of ZAG in the patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and its association with metabolic parameters.

Methods: A total of 77 subjects (39 patients with T1DM and 38 normal subjects) with the mean age of 10.4 were enrolled in this study after careful clinical examination. Routine biochemical tests including fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured by colorimetric methods and HbA1c levels were assessed by immunoturbidometry. ZAG levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: The level of ZAG was significantly higher in patients with T1DM than that in control subjects (2.65 (1.26-3.78), vs. 0.74 (0.47-1.22), respectively). It showed a significant positive correlation with BMI and FBG, while it was negatively correlated with TC and HDL-C. No significant correlation was observed between ZAG and HbA1c. The levels of ZAG did not differ between male and female subjects.

Conclusion: ZAG might contribute to the pathogenesis of T1DM and might also be considered an interesting target for the management of immune responses in T1DM. Long-term studies are recommended to establish the relationship between ZAG and the pathogenesis and progression of T1DM.