Does ethanol metabolism affect erythrocyte hemolysis?

The effects of ethanol and acetaldehyde on the hemolytic stability of rabbi t erythrocytes have been compared. Incubation of normal erythrocytes with e thanol facilitated both acidic and oxidative hemolysis and increased the pe rcentages of cells that were hemolysed at maximal rate. Acetaldehyde exerte d a similar destabilizing effect on erythrocytes only in the case of oxidat ive hemolysis. The destabilizing effect of ethanol was observed in catalase -inactivated erythrocytes under acidic, but not oxidative, hemolysis condit ions. It is concluded that the destabilizing effect of unmetabolized ethano l occurs under conditions of acidic hemolysis, whereas the destabilizing ef fect of the oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde takes place only under the conditions of oxidative hemolysis. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.