Is Glycosylated Hemoglobin Clinically Useful?

Abstract

The chemical reaction between glucose and hemoglobin is an example of a widespread biologic process called "nonenzymatic glycosylation" (more properly called "glucosylation," in reference to glucose–protein linkages, or adducts). In this instance, a protein, hemoglobin A, is modified postsynthetically by forming an adduct with glucose.¹ The reaction is nonenzymatic, slow, and irreversible. The human erythrocyte is freely permeable to glucose, and within each erythrocyte, glycosylated hemoglobin is formed continuously from hemoglobin A at a rate dependent on the ambient glucose concentration.² It is now widely accepted that measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin in a single blood sample provides an accurate index . . .