Electrophoretically determined haemoglobin A1 concentrations during short-term changes in glucose concentration

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Haemoglobin A1 (HbA1) reflects average blood glucose levels.
• Accurate HbA1 measurement is vital for diabetes management.
• Current methods may not distinguish labile from stable HbA1 fractions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate agar gel electrophoresis as an alternative method for HbA1 determination.
• To investigate the influence of glucose levels and incubation time on HbA1 measurements.
• To determine if pre-incubation steps improve HbA1 accuracy for long-term glucose monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Agar gel electrophoresis was used for HbA1 determination.
• Erythrocytes were incubated in vitro at 37°C with varying glucose concentrations.
• Erythrocytes were also incubated with isotonic saline prior to HbA1 assay.

Main Results:

• Electrophoretic HbA1 concentration increased with glucose levels and incubation time.
• Incubation in glucose-free medium or saline reduced HbA1 to pre-incubation levels.
• In diabetics, HbA1 decrease after saline incubation correlated with blood glucose and initial HbA1.

Conclusions:

• Agar gel electrophoresis is a viable alternative to chromatography for HbA1 measurement.
• Electrophoretic HbA1 assay results can be influenced by recent glucose fluctuations.
• Saline pre-incubation of erythrocytes is recommended for accurate long-term glucose control assessment in diabetics using electrophoresis.