Lysosomes are involved in
atherogenesis. Therefore we have studied the level of serum
beta-hexosaminidase isoenzymes (
Hex A and
Hex B) in relation to risk factors for
atherosclerosis in a homogeneous population of 886 post-menopausal women. We found a relation with several risk factors such as serum
triglycerides, diastolic and systolic blood pressure,
blood glucose, waist/hip ratio and body mass index but not with serum
cholesterol. Also, the mean values for
Hex A and
Hex B were higher in smokers than in non-smokers but only the mean value for
Hex A differed significantly. The relation of serum
beta-hexosaminidase isoenzymes to risk factors might be due to lysosomal over-loading, which gives rise to increased
enzyme synthesis and enhanced secretion of lysosomal
enzymes to circulation. The subjects in the 95-100 percentile of
Hex A showed significantly increased frequency of
myocardial infarction of their fathers and of
stroke in their mothers and the subjects in the 95-100 percentile of
Hex B showed increased frequency of
stroke in their mothers. Thus the findings of a relation between Hex
isoenzymes and heredity for
vascular disease further stress the significant relation between Hex
isoenzymes and risk factors. Since
Hex B is a sensitive marker for
alcohol abuse, we also investigated its serum level in subjects that could be suspected of
alcohol abuse. However, we did not find any differences in these subjects compared with the others, possibly due to the relatively short half-life of
Hex B after alcohol withdrawal.