CHOLESTEROL SULFATE INDUCES CHANGES IN HUMAN ERYTHROCYTE THERMOSTABILITY

Citation
M. Przybylska et al., CHOLESTEROL SULFATE INDUCES CHANGES IN HUMAN ERYTHROCYTE THERMOSTABILITY, Biochemistry and molecular biology international, 46(2), 1998, pp. 399-410
Citations number
38
Categorie Soggetti
Biology
ISSN journal
10399712
Volume
46
Issue
2
Year of publication
1998
Pages
399 - 410
Database
ISI
SICI code
1039-9712(1998)46:2<399:CSICIH>2.0.ZU;2-Q
Abstract
The influence of cholesterol sulfate (CS) on human red blood cell ther mosensitivity was studied by flow cytometry and scanning electron micr oscopy. It was found that the effect of this sterol on erythrocyte sta bility is biphasic. Exposure of red blood cells (RBC) to the elevated temperature (51 degrees C) induced perturbation of the cell membrane a nd led to haemolysis. Preincubation of cells with CS at a concentratio n of 1 x 10(-5) M protected them, to a certain extent, against lysis. In contrast, enrichment of RBCs with CS during the incubation with low er (0.4 x 10(-5) M) or higher (4-8 x 10(-5) M) CS concentrations subst antially augmented the fragility of the cells. The fact, that at the s ublytic concentrations CS stabilises the cell membrane, may be explain ed by the ability of this amphipathic compound to link hydrophilic and lipophilic domains of the cell membrane and to increase the degree of the lipid bilayer order. Higher CS concentrations cause cell lysis in a detergent-like manner. Our data support the conclusion that CS can be considered to be a potent thermosensitizer, which enhances the sele ctivity of biological drug carriers.