In this paper, we give an evaluation of a newly developed affinity chromatography system using aminophenyl boronate agarose gel for the measurement of glucosylated serum proteins. This method is based on the observation that phenyl boronate in alkaline solution forms a specific complex with cis-diol groups of sugars. Since the stable forms of nonenzymatic glucosylated products are known to be 1-deoxyfructosyl derivatives of proteins, we utilized aminophenyl boronate immobilized on agarose to separate and quantitate the glucosylated serum proteins.
In same serum specimens from normal and diabetic patients, there was a singificant correlation (r=0.954) between the levels of glucosylated serum proteins measured by affinity chromatography and glucosylated albumin estimated by thiobarbituric acid assay. In addition, there was a significant correlation (r=0.969) between the levels of glucosylated serum proteins and glucosylated albumin measured by affinity chromatography. However, it was shown that the values for glucosylated serum proteins were significantly higher than those of glucosylated albumin measured by affinity chromatography in normals. Further studies are required to clarify the reasons for the above differences in results.
