We determined the amount of furosine derived from glucosylated hemoglobin (Hb) by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) by using a reversed phase column chromatograph (TSKGEL) according to the method of Schleicher et al. Forty-four diabetic patients and 7 healthy subjects were selected for the study. Glucose bound to a lysine residue is transformed to fructoselysine which undergoes acid hydrolysis to form furosine. The furosine value of glucosylated Hb (GHb-f) was expressed as the ratio of the furosine peak area to the tyrosine peak area. HbA, was determined by HPLC using an ion exchange column chromatograph (Auto A1c).
The GHb-f value was 4.6 ± 1.5%(mean ± SD) in diabetic patients, significantly higher than that found in healthy subjects which was 2. 3 ± 0.3%(mean ± SD). A significant positive correlation was found between GHb-f and HbAi values. Furthermore, the GHb-f was best correlated with the stable HbAic value (r= 0.960, p<0.001).
This method is useful for the detection of various glucosylated proteins. In the present study, we evaluated the possible use of furosine as a new indicator of blood glucose control of diabetic patients.
