Hypersialylated macromolecular serum immunoglobulin A1 in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE

The origin of the elevation of serum immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is unsettled. The aim of this study was to address the carbohydrate changes of serum IgA1 from patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus, as a possible cause of the elevation.

METHODS

IgA1 was purified from sera of 6 DM patients and 4 healthy matched controls by using highly acetylated-Sepharose 6B, anti-IgA-agarose, and jacalin-agarose columns, and further separated into jacalin low-affinity, medium, and high-affinity fractions. Hinge and Fc fragments from native IgA1 were obtained and analyzed by using Sambucus nigra, Maackia amurensis, Arachis hypogaea, Erythrina cristagalli, and Ricinus communis lectins.

RESULTS

The jacalin high-affinity fraction, mostly constituted by macromolecular IgA1, was more abundant in DM patients than in controls and also more reactive to Sambucus nigra, and Maackia amurensis lectins.

CONCLUSIONS

Macromolecular serum IgA1 from DM patients is hypersialylated and this probably contributes to the high level of IgA1 in DM patients.