HDL biology
Non-HDL-C and insulin resistance predict high CETP activity in patients at risk for type 2 diabetes (Clin Biochem 2012)
Original title: HOMA-IR and non-HDL-C as predictors of high cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity in patients at risk for type 2 diabetes
Because directly measuring CETP activity is impractical for most clinical laboratories, researchers sought simple biochemical predictors of high CETP activity in eighty-five subjects at risk for type 2 diabetes, classified by presence of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome patients had higher glucose, insulin, triglycerides, non-HDL-C, HOMA-IR, and CETP activity, and lower HDL-C, than those without. Using a ROC curve, high CETP activity was defined as greater than 250% per mL per hour, with non-HDL-C of 160 mg/dL or more (OR 11.1, 95% CI 3.3 to 38.2, P less than 0.001) and HOMA-IR greater than 2.1 (OR 4.4, 95% CI 1.3 to 14.8, P less than 0.05) both independently predicting high CETP activity, identifying two readily available clinical markers as proxies for this hard-to-measure enzyme.
Original abstract
Background And Aims: Metabolic syndrome (MS) and type 2 diabetes are highly associated with an abnormal lipoprotein profile, which may be generated and accentuated by high cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) activity. Given the difficulty in measuring CETP activity, the aim was to identify simple biochemical predictors of high CETP activity.
Design And Methods: Eighty five subjects at risk for type 2 diabetes were classified according to the presence of MS. Lipoprotein profile, HOMA-IR and endogenous CETP activity were evaluated.
Results: As expected, MS patients presented higher concentration of glucose, insulin, triglycerides and non-HDL-C and lower HDL-C levels. Moreover, MS patients exhibited increased HOMA-IR and CETP activity. Employing a ROC curve for MS, high CETP activity was defined as >250%ml⁻¹ h⁻¹. The predictive variables of high CETP were non-HDL-C≥160mg/dl (OR=11.1;95%IC=3.3-38.2;p<0.001) and HOMA-IR>2.1 (OR=4.4;95%IC=1.3-14.8;p<0.05).
Conclusions: High non-HDL-C and insulin resistance were predictors for increased CETP activity which measurement is not accessible for clinical laboratories.
Summary written by cetpinhibition.org from the published abstract; figures as published. Page updated 19 August 2026. Methods.