Apoprotein b-poor very low density lipoprotein in diabetic patients without hyperlipoproteinemia.

In order to see if there is a latent metabolic disorder of plasma very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) in uncontrolled diabetic patients without hyperlipoproteinemia, 28 diabetic patients and 13 matched normal subjects were analyzed for the compositions of fasting plasma VLDL. Although the lipid profiles and total apoproteins were similar among the normals, normolipoproteinemic well-controlled diabetics and normolipoproteinemic poorly-controlled diabetics, VLDL apoprotein B content tended to be decreased in poorly-controlled diabetics. Consequently, triglyceride/apoprotein B ratio was found to be increased significantly (p less than 0.02) to 12.5 +/- 1.3 (mean +/- S.E.) in the normolipoproteinemic poorly-controlled diabetics as compared with that in the normals (8.1 +/- 0.7). Since plasma VLDL is known to become relatively enriched with apoprotein B as the VLDL delipidation proceeds, the apoprotein B-poor VLDL in the normolipoproteinemic poorly-controlled diabetics seems to reflect a latent delayed turnover of circulating VLDL and this might be the disorder characteristic to diabetes mellitus.