Flow cytometric analysis of glyoxalase-1 expression in human leukocytes

Altered glyoxalase-1 (GLO-1) activity and expression is associated with the development of late diabetic complications, malignancy and oxidative stress- and aging-related diseases. In the present study, we developed a flow cytometry method for GLO-1 detection in human leukocytes isolated from peripheral blood samples to investigate GLO-1 expression in leukocyte subsets from type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus patients (n = 11) and healthy subjects (n = 8). The flow cytometry analysis of GLO-1 in leukocytes showed that expression index of GLO-1-positive cells was slightly increased in mononuclear leukocytes from diabetic patients. This result correlated with the increase in GLO-1 activity in the whole blood samples of type 2 diabetes patients. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that flow cytometry is suitable for the detection of the GLO-1 enzyme in human leukocytes and that this method could be used to investigate the fast adaptation of the glyoxalase system related to the pathogenesis of late complications of diabetes mellitus and other glycation stress-related disorders.