Although red blood cell (RBC) life span is a known determinant of percentage hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), its variation has been considered insufficient to affect clinical decisions in hematologically normal persons. However, an unexplained discordance between HbA1c and other measures of glycemic control can be observed that could be, in part, the result of differences in RBC life span. To explore the hypothesis that variation in RBC life span could alter measured HbA1c sufficiently to explain some of this discordance, we determined RBC life span using a biotin label in 6 people with diabetes and 6 nondiabetic controls. Mean RBC age was calculated from the RBC survival curve for all circulating RBCs and for labeled RBCs at multiple time points as they aged. In addition, HbA1c in magnetically isolated labeled RBCs and in isolated transferrin receptor-positivereticulocytes was used to determine the in vivo synthetic rate of HbA1c. The mean age of circulating RBCs ranged from 39 to 56 days in diabetic subjects and 38 to 60 days in nondiabetic controls. HbA1c synthesis was linear and correlated with mean whole blood HbA1c (R2 = 0.91). The observed variation in RBC survival was large enough to cause clinically important differences in HbA1c for a given mean blood glucose.

OBJECTIVE—Discordances between HbA_1c and other measures of glycemic control are common in clinical practice and remain unexplained. We developed a measure of discordance between HbA_1c and fructosamine (FA) (glycosylated serum proteins) to conduct a systematic evaluation. We termed this the glycosylation gap (GG) and sought to determine its relationship to diabetic nephropathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Measurements of HbA_1c and FA on the same sample in 153 people were used to calculate GG, defined as the difference between measured HbA_1c and HbA_1c predicted from FA based on the population regression of HbA_1c on FA. RESULTS—GG had a broad distribution (range, −3.2% to 5.5%); 40% of samples had values indicating major differences in prediction of complications risk by the measured versus predicted HbA_1c. GG was highly correlated (r = 0.81) between measurements repeated in 65 patients 23 ± 2 weeks apart, indicating that the discordances are reliable and not explained by differences in turnover of underlying proteins. In 40 patients with type 1 diabetes of ≥15 years’ duration, an increase in GG by 1% was associated with a 2.9-fold greater frequency of increasing nephropathy stage (P = 0.0014). GG was −0.8 ± 0.2% in subjects with no nephropathy, −0.3 ± 0.2% with microalbuminuria/hypertension, and 0.7 ± 0.3% in subjects with proteinuria or renal dysfunction (P < 0.05). GG correlated better with nephropathy than did either HbA_1c or FA alone in this population. CONCLUSIONS—The glycosylation gap may be a useful clinical research tool for evaluating physiologic sources of variation in diabetic complications beyond glycemic control.

OBJECTIVE—To determine whether interindividual heterogeneity in the erythrocyte (red blood cell [RBC]) transmembrane glucose gradient might explain discordances between A1C and glycemic control based on measured fructosamine. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We modeled the relationship between plasma glucose and RBC glucose as the concentration distribution (Ci-to-Co ratio) of a nonmetabolizable glucose analog 14C-3-O-methyl glucose (14C-3OMG) inside (Ci) and outside (Co) RBCs in vitro. We examined the relationship between that distribution and the degree of glycation of hemoglobin in comparison with glycation of serum proteins (fructosamine), the glycation gap. A1C, fructosamine, and in vitro determination of the 14C-3OMG distribution in glucose-depleted RBCs were measured in 26 fasted subjects. RESULTS—The Ci-to-Co ratio 0.89 ± 0.07 for 3-O-methyl-d-glucopyranose (3OMG) ranged widely (0.72–1.04, n = 26). In contrast, urea Ci-to-Co (1.015 ± 0.022 [range 0.98–1.07], P < 0.0001) did not. Concerning mechanism, in a representative subset of subjects, the Ci-to-Co ratio was retained in RBC ghosts, was not dependent on ATP or external cations, and was reestablished after reversal of the glucose gradient. The 3OMG Ci-to-Co ratio was not correlated with serum fructosamine, suggesting that it was independent of mean plasma glucose. However, Ci-to-Co did correlate with A1C (R2 = 0.19) and with the glycation gap (R2 = 0.20), consistent with a model in which differences in internal glucose concentration at a given mean plasma glucose contribute to differences in A1C for given level of glycemic control. CONCLUSIONS—The data demonstrate interindividual heterogeneity in glucose gradients across RBC membranes that may affect hemoglobin glycation and have implications for diabetes complications risk and risk assessment.

Disclosure Summary: R.M.C. has served as a consultant for Roche Diagnostics. S.H. and W.H.H. have nothing to declare.

Plasma glucose plays a key role in the complications of diabetes mellitus. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and circulating concentrations of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are central to diabetes clinical care and pathophysiology. However, there is evidence for variation between individuals in the relationship of plasma glucose to both these measures and to specific complications. The glycation gap (GG) and hemoglobin glycation index represent tools for quantitating the variability in the relationship between plasma glucose and HbA1c useful for identification of underlying mechanisms. Recent evidence demonstrates the heritability of HbA1c, the GG, and AGEs, yet not of glycated serum proteins. There has been tremendous effort devoted to identifying the heritable basis of types 1 and 2 diabetes; however, studies on the heritable contributors to these mediators of glucose effect on complications are only beginning. New evidence for normal biologic variation in the distribution of glucose into the red blood cell (RBC) intracellular compartment and RBC lifespan in people with and without diabetes represent candidates for heritable mechanisms and contributors to the rise in HbA1c with age. Taken as a whole, genetic and mechanistic evidence suggests new potential targets for complications prevention and improvement in complications risk estimation. These observations could help tilt the risk—benefit balance in glycemic control toward a more beneficial outcome.

HbA1c is a trusted standard for monitoring glycemic control and predicting complications. However, there are emerging issues complicating the interpretation of HbA1c that the clinician caring for patients with diabetes needs to consider. There is increasing evidence of the potential for mismatches between HbA1c and other measures of glycemia which require some caution in HbA1c interpretation. We have attempted to characterize the nature of these discordances by developing the concept of the 'glycation gap' in which differences in protein glycation occurring in the intracellular space (HbA1c) versus in the extracellular space (measured as fructosamine) are compared. We have evidence that HbA1c results discordant from other measures of glycemic control may be secondary to previously unappreciated physiological variables, including erythrocyte lifespan, in hematologically normal individuals. We relate these findings to a number of HbA1c interpretation issues important for diabetes care: factors affecting hemoglobin glycation, relationship of HbA1c to glycemia, standardization of the HbA1c assay, and HbA1c relation to complications. There are an increasing number of clinical circumstances in which there are nuances to HbA1c interpretation such that standard norms for assessment of glycemic control or complication risk may need to be modified.