HDL dysfunction in diabetes: causes and possible treatments

Abstract

HDL is known to be inversely correlated with cardiovascular disease due to its diverse antiatherogenic functions. These functions include cholesterol efflux and reverse cholesterol transport, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. However, HDL has been shown to undergo a loss of function in several pathophysiological states, as in the acute phase response, obesity and chronic inflammatory diseases. Some of these diseases were also shown to be associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease. One such disease that is associated with HDL dysfunction and accelerated atherosclerosis is diabetes mellitus, a disease in which the HDL particle undergoes diverse structural modifications that result in significant changes in its function. This review will summarize the changes that occur in HDL in diabetes mellitus and how these changes lead to HDL dysfunction. Possible treatments for HDL dysfunction are also briefly described.

Keywords::

• diabetes mellitus
• dyslipidemia
• glycation
• HDL
• HDL dysfunction
• inflammation
• oxidation

Financial & competing interests disclosure

AP Levy is the author of a patent owned by his university that claims the pharmacogenomic use of the haptoglobin genotype to predict susceptibility to diabetic cardiovascular disease and to select which individuals will derive benefit from antioxidant therapy. AP Levy is now serving as a consultant for Haptocure, which has licensed this patent from his institution. This work was supported by grants from the BSF and NIH (RO1DK085226) to AP Levy. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.