Plasma
lipoproteins exist as several subpopulations with distinct particle number and size that are not fully reflected in the conventional
lipid panel. In this study, we sought to quantify
lipoprotein subpopulations in patients with
type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to determine whether specific
lipoprotein subpopulations are associated with
insulin resistance and
inflammation markers. The study included 57 patients with T2DM (age, 61.14 ± 9.99 years; HbA1c, 8.66 ± 1.60%; mean body mass index, 35.15 ± 6.65 kg/m2). Plasma
lipoprotein particles number and size were determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Associations of different
lipoprotein subpopulations with
lipoprotein insulin resistance (LPIR) score and
glycoprotein acetylation (GlycA) were assessed using multi-regression analysis. In stepwise regression analysis, VLDL and HDL large particle number and size showed the strongest associations with LPIR (R2 = 0.960; p = 0.0001), whereas the concentrations of the small VLDL and HDL particles were associated with GlycA (R2 = 0.190; p = 0.008 and p = 0.049, respectively). In adjusted multi-regression analysis, small and large VLDL particles and all sizes of
lipoproteins independently predicted LPIR, whereas only the number of small
LDL particles predicted GlycA. Conventional markers HbA1c and
Hs-CRP did not exhibit any significant association with
lipoprotein subpopulations. Our data suggest that monitoring
insulin resistance-induced changes in
lipoprotein subpopulations in T2DM might help to identify novel
biomarkers that can be useful for effective clinical intervention.