• Giada Bianchetti, Chiara Maria Assunta Cefalo, Carla Ferreri, Anna Sansone, Marilena Vitale, Cassandra Serantoni, Alessio Abeltino, Teresa Mezza, Pietro Manuel Ferraro, Marco De Spirito, Gabriele Riccardi, Andrea Giaccari, and Giuseppe Maulucci.
• Department of Neurosciences, Biophysics Section, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
• Eur. J. Clin. Invest. 2024 Mar 1; 54 (3): e14121e14121.

AimsImproving the composition of circulating fatty acids (FA) leads to a reduction in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in high-risk individuals. The membrane fluidity of red blood cells (RBC), which reflects circulating FA status, may be a valid biomarker of cardiovascular (CV) risk in type 2 diabetes (T2D).MethodsRed blood cell membrane fluidity, quantified as general polarization (GP), was assessed in 234 subjects with T2D, 86 with prior major CVD. Based on GP distribution, a cut-off of .445 was used to divide the study cohort into two groups: the first with higher GP, called GEL, and the second, defined as lower GP (LGP). Lipidomic analysis was performed to evaluate FA composition of RBC membranes.ResultsAlthough with comparable CV risk factors, the LGP group had a greater percentage of patients with major CVD than the GEL group (40% vs 24%, respectively, p < .05). Moreover, in a logistic regression analysis, a lower GP value was independently associated with the presence of macrovascular complications. Lipidomic analysis showed a clear shift of LGP membranes towards a pro-inflammatory condition due to higher content of arachidonic acid and increased omega 6/omega 3 index.ConclusionsIncreased membrane fluidity is associated with a higher CV risk in subjects with T2D. If confirmed in prospective studies, membrane fluidity could be a new biomarker for residual CV risk assessment in T2D.© 2023 The Authors. European Journal of Clinical Investigation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation.

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