HLA class II antigens and interleukin-1 in patients affected by type-II diabetes mellitus and hyperlipemia.

In order to evaluate the influence of hyperlipemia on the specific cell defence reaction in type-II diabetes mellitus in humans, 20 diabetics were recruited in this study. They were divided into two groups on the basis of the absence or coexistence of abnormal serum lipid pattern. The lymphocyte and monocyte cells drawn from the type-II diabetic patients with abnormally elevated serum levels of cholesterol and triglycerides showed a decreased expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class-II antigens and an impaired secretion of interleukin (IL-1). Values of MHC class-II antigen expression in diabetics without lipid metabolic alterations were not significantly different from those found in healthy subjects. In conclusion, abnormalities of lipid metabolism often found in type-II diabetes mellitus may play a key role in the impaired specific cell reaction toward infectious diseases of these patients.