Effect of type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus on key glycolytic enzymes of red blood cells.

The effect of type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus on the key glycolytic enzymes of red cells was studied. The activities of hexokinase, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase were found to be significantly (p less than 0.01) increased in diabetic patients. Treatment with insulin restored the enzyme activities to normal. The increased activities of the key enzymes may help to regulate red cell ATP level in response to the elevated Na:K pump rate in diabetes. The increased activities of these enzymes may also be due to a greater proportion of young erythrocytes in diabetic patients because of a shortened red cell life span as compared to normal.