Lipoprotein lipase activity and serum lipoproteins in untreated type 2 (insulin-independent) diabetes associated with obesity.

Serum lipoproteins and the heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle were measured in 36 untreated obese patients with Type 2 (insulin-independent) diabetes and the values were compared with those of non-diabetic subjects of similar age, sex and relative body weight. In diabetic men, the LPL activity of adipose tissue was significantly reduced when expressed per tissue weight or per fat cell (p less than 0.01). Diabetic females had slightly but not significantly lower LPL activity in adipose tissue than the non-diabetic females. The muscle LPL activity was similar in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects of both sexes. When the diabetic men were classified according to fasting blood glucose, the patients with high glucose levels had lower adipose tissue LPL activity than those with moderate hyperglycemia. In both diabetic and non-diabetic subjects, there was a significant positive correlation between HDL cholesterol concentrations and adipose tissue LPL activity. It is concluded that Type 2 diabetes influences adipose tissue LPL activity and plasma lipoprotein concentrations and that this effect is superimposed on the similar changes produced by obesity alone.