Serum apolipoproteins A-I, A-II and B in diabetic children and matched healthy controls.

Serum concentrations of apolipoprotein (apo) A-I. A-II and B were determined in 28 diabetic children (age 3-16 years) and 14 healthy matched controls. In the healthy children the serum apo A-I concentration was 120 +/- 20 arbitrary units (A.U.) (mean +/- S.D.), apo A-II 111 +/- 14 A.U. and apo B 100 +/- 34 A.U. (100 A.U. = mean concentration in adult blood donors). The apo A-I concentration was significantly higher in the diabetic children (134 +/- 13; p less than 0.02) than in the healthy controls. In diabetics apo A-II was 116 +/- 14 A.U. and apo B 106 +/- 21 A.U., values not significantly different from those in the controls. The serum cholesterol concentration in the healthy children correlated strongly to apo A-I and apo A-II, which was not the case in the diabetics. The differences between diabetic and healthy children with respect to correlations between the apolipoproteins and the serum lipids might indicate a different apolipoprotein/lipoprotein lipid relationship in diabetics.