Changes in the sensitivity of mammalian erythrocytes to hypertonic shock and cryohemolysis under the pretreatment by phenylhydrazine

Abstract

The effect of pretreating mammalian erythrocytes with phenylhydrazine on their sensitivity to hypertonic shock and hypertonic cryohemolysis was investigated. The results of the experiments showed that the sensitivity of intact mammalian erythrocytes to these stress effects is species-specific. It can be determined by differences in the protein and phospholipid composition of the erythrocytes studied. Human erythrocytes are more sensitive to hypertonic shock at 37 and 0°C, and human and equine erythrocytes are more sensitive to hypertonic cryohemolysis. It was found that under hypertonic shock conditions, the degree of lysis of rabbit erythrocytes at 37°C and 0°C is the same, whereas that of bovine red blood cells is significantly different. Phenylhydrazine treatment alters the sensitivity of erythrocytes to hypertonic shock of some studied mammals and to hypertonic cryohemolysis in all of them. The results showed that under hypertonic shock at 37°C, the sensitivity of human and bovine cells decreases, that of rabbit cells does not change, that of horse cells increases; at 0°C, it increases in all species studied. It should be noted that the sensitivity of horse erythrocytes to hypertonic injury increases significantly (almost twice) at 0 and 37°C, whereas the sensitivity of rabbit erythrocytes does not change at 37°C. Under conditions of hypertonic cryohemolysis, the degree of cell lysis after treatment with phenylhydrazine becomes the same for erythrocytes of all mammalian species studied, i.e. the effect of stress becomes universal and not species-specific. Taking into account the data on the effect of phenylhydrazine only on the protein part of the erythrocyte cytoskeleton-membrane complex, it can be assumed that the protein component of the cytoskeleton is decisive in the response of mammalian erythrocytes to the effect of hypertonic cryohemolysis. As for hypertonic shock, since the species-specificity of the mammalian erythrocyte response to stress is preserved after phenylhydrazine action on membrane proteins, other structures, such as the lipid component of the membrane, could determine the sensitivity of erythrocytes to this type of stress.

Keywords

• mammalian erythrocytes, phenylhydrazine, hypertonic shock, hypertonic cryohemolysis, cytoskeleton