Clara cell protein correlation with hyperlipidemia.

Abstract

Serum levels of protein 1 (P1), a Clara cell secretory protein, in 746 healthy subjects were measured and their correlations with different types of serum lipids and lipoproteins-that is, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TCh), free cholesterol (FCh), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and apoproteins (apo) A-I, A-II, and B-were examined. P1 serum levels were examined for their correlation with body mass index (BMI), and were compared for 47 obese, 70 normal, and 17 lean males. P1 serum levels in 69 patients with diabetes mellitus and 24 patients with atherosclerotic stenosis of the carotid artery or coronary artery were also compared to those in healthy control subjects. P1 showed a significant positive correlation with TG, TCh, FCh, apo A-I, apo A-II, apo B, and BMI (r = 0.93, 0.26, 0.42, 0.11, 0.35, 0.58, and 0.20, respectively; p < 0.0001 to 0.05), and an inverse correlation with HDL (r = -0.32; p < 0.01). P1 values in obese men (mean +/- SD: 139.2 +/- 98.2 micrograms/L) were significantly higher than those in normal (90.3 +/- 57.1) and lean ones (65.6 +/- 40.8) (p < 0.01). In both diabetic and atherosclerotic patients, P1 serum levels did not significantly differ from those in healthy subjects. From these results, we conclude the following: (1) the serum levels of P1 correlate significantly with those of lipids and lipoproteins; (2) P1 serum levels increase in the case of obesity.