Glycated hemoglobin in camel: Minimal correlation with blood glucose level

Glucose and glycated hemoglobin (Hb) in the blood of camel (Camelus dromedarius) and cow (Bos taurus) were analyzed and compared with human values. Camel displayed high blood glucose concentration (9.7±2.8 mM) but a low level of glycated-Hb (3.4± 0.23%).Cow blood samples did not show sufficient variations in glucose concentrations (5.7±0.73 mM) or glycated Hb levels (3.2± 0.11%) compared to human values. The low glycation of camel Hb at higher glucose concentrations suggest that certain factors protect the Hb from glycation at high glucose concentrations. Camel Hb also exhibited a higher electrophoretic mobility than normal hemoglobin of human or cow. Camel Hb migrated at a rate corresponding to that of human Hb-C. Bioinformatics tools were used to explore the biochemical basis for the difference in camel Hb migratory position and its apparent resistance to glycation.