Objective: To investigate levels of components of the alternative pathway of complement, and of two activation products, ASP and Bb, in persons ranging in insulin resistance both fasting and following the consumption of a high-fat, low-carbohydrate meal.
Subjects: Healthy controls (n = 17) and normoglycaemic first-degree relatives of patients with type II diabetes (n = 15).
Measurements: All subjects had normal glucose tolerance. Blood was collected for the measurement of plasma glucose, insulin, triglycerides and free fatty acids. Body composition was assessed with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and whole-body insulin sensitivity with a euglycaemic, hyperinsulinaemic clamp. Basal and postprandial values over 6 h were determined for plasma C3, B, D, Bb and ASP. Basal levels of C1q, C4 and CRP were also determined.
Results: Controls did not differ significantly from the relatives of patients with type II diabetes for any metabolic parameter except in their degree of insulin resistance and central fat (kg). Across all subjects, basal levels of C3, but no other complement protein, were correlated with insulin resistance. Native complement proteins, but not ASP or Bb, were correlated with body mass index and the amount (kg) of central fat. Basal levels of C3 and factor B were significantly higher in the relatives group, whereas factor D and the classical pathway proteins C1q and C4 did not differ between the two groups. Postprandially, levels of factor D were significantly reduced in both groups. ASP levels also fell postprandially, the decline achieving significance in the relatives group.
Conclusions: Elevated levels of C3 and factor B in the diabetic relatives group may have resulted from increased synthesis by adipose tissue. There was no evidence of alternative pathway activation in response to a fat meal in terms of ASP or Bb production, or significant consumption of C3 and factor B. These data do not support an essential requirement of the hypothesis that ASP is produced in response to the intake of fat.