Metabolic Abnormalities in Erythrocyte Membranes and Liver Tissue Homogenates in Experimental Diabetes Mellitus.

Considerable changes in serum lipids and lipoprotein profiles associated with hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, increased VLDL and LDL concentrations, and reduced HDL level occur at the early stages of streptozotocin-induced diabetes (day 7) in rats. The level of saturated palmitic fatty acid increased and the levels of monounsaturated fatty acids decreased at the expense of oleic acid, which considerably differed from changes in these parameters observed in patients with diabetes mellitus. Our findings suggest that changes in the lipid composition and fatty acid pool in erythrocytes and liver homogenates are pro-atherosclerotic already in the early stages of diabetes development.