Pcsk9 Is Increased In Youth With Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with a 10-fold increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, due in part to dyslipidemia. Patients with poorly controlled T1D show an increase in total and LDL cholesterol as well as elevated apolipoprotein B (ApoB) levels. Moreover, even patients with well-controlled T1D can show increased levels of ApoB. Dyslipidemia is particularly important in females with T1D, as the atheroprotective lipoprotein profile and reduced risk of CVD usually observed in females without diabetes are lost in females with diabetes (1,2).Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has recently emerged as a novel regulator of plasma cholesterol levels: gain-of-function PCSK9 mutations increase LDL cholesterol and CVD risk, whereas inhibitors of PCSK9 lower LDL cholesterol. Although PCSK9 is increased in individuals with obesity and type 2 diabetes (3,4), it is not known whether PCSK9 levels are also changed in individuals with T1D.Here, we measured PCSK9 levels in a subset of a previously described cohort of T1D and control subjects (5). For the current study, subjects with serum available for PCSK9 measurement were matched for age and sex between each group using the frequency matching method. Subjects who reported taking statin medications at the time of the study were excluded from the analyses ( n = 3, all from T1D …