Published Online
on September 4, 2006

A more recent version of this article appeared on September 12, 2006

This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 114/11/1169    most recent CIRCULATIONAHA.106.626135v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Handberg, A. Articles by Beck-Nielsen, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Handberg, A. Articles by Beck-Nielsen, H. Pubmed/NCBI databases Gene GEO Profiles HomoloGene UniGene Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Medline Plus Health Information Diabetes Related Collections Type 2 diabetes Glucose intolerance Other diagnostic testing Pathophysiology Risk Factors Other arteriosclerosis Related Article

Submitted on October 28, 2005
Revised on July 14, 2006
Accepted on July 17, 2006

Identification of the Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein Scavenger Receptor CD36 in Plasma. A Novel Marker of Insulin Resistance

Aase Handberg MD, DMSc^*, Klaus Levin MD, PhD, Kurt Højlund MD, PhD, and Henning Beck-Nielsen MD, DMSc

From the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus (A.H.), and Diabetes Research Centre, Odense University Hospital, Odense (K.L., K.H., H.B.-N.), Denmark.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: aah{at}dadlnet.dk.

Background--Macrophage CD36 scavenges oxidized low-density lipoprotein, leading to foam cell formation, and appears to be a key proatherogenic molecule. Increased expression of CD36 has been attributed to hyperglycemia and to defective macrophage insulin signaling in insulin resistance. Premature atherosclerosis is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in type 2 diabetes. Here, we report the identification of a soluble form of CD36 (sCD36) in plasma and hypothesize that sCD36 would be elevated in patients with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.

Methods and Results--sCD36 in plasma was demonstrated by immunopurification and Western blotting. We established ELISA assays to determine sCD36 in plasma and measured sCD36 in obese type 2 diabetic patients, obese nondiabetic relatives, and obese and lean control subjects. sCD36 was markedly elevated in type 2 diabetic patients compared with both lean (5-fold) and obese (2- to 3-fold) control subjects. There was a strong, inverse correlation between sCD36 and insulin-stimulated glucose disposal and a direct correlation with fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, and body mass index.

Conclusions--Our study demonstrates sCD36 in plasma for the first time. sCD36 is highly related to risk factors of accelerated atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes such as insulin resistance and glycemic control, and we propose that sCD36 might represent a marker of the metabolic syndrome and a potential surrogate marker of atherosclerosis.

Key words: antigens, CD36 • atherosclerosis • diabetes mellitus, type 2 • foam cells • inflammation

Related Article:

Issue Highlights
Circulation 2006 114: 1133. [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Glintborg, K. Hojlund, M. Andersen, J. E. Henriksen, H. Beck-Nielsen, and A. Handberg Soluble CD36 and Risk Markers of Insulin Resistance and Atherosclerosis Are Elevated in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Significantly Reduced During Pioglitazone Treatment Diabetes Care, February 1, 2008; 31(2): 328 - 334. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Collot-Teixeira, J. Martin, C. McDermott-Roe, R. Poston, and J. L. McGregor CD36 and macrophages in atherosclerosis Cardiovasc Res, August 1, 2007; 75(3): 468 - 477. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Grundy Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase: Another Biomarker for Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiovascular Risk Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., January 1, 2007; 27(1): 4 - 7. [Full Text] [PDF]