Effect of alpha-tocopherol on oxidative hemolysis, as evaluated by impedance measurement

Using a hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase (HX-XOD) reaction system, the effect of vitamin E (VE) on oxidative membrane injury was studied by the impedance method. Both VE-sufficient and VE-deficient erythrocytes showed an elevation of low frequency permittivity in the early phase of reaction. In the later phase of reaction, VE-sufficient erythrocytes showed a sustained elevation in permittivity, while VE-deficient erythrocytes showed a decrease in permittivity with time. These changes consisted with the process of hemolysis in the HX-XOD system. The similarity of early phase change between VE-sufficient and VE-deficient erythrocytes indicates that the HX-XOD system exerted a similar effect on both erythrocytes in the early phase. The difference in changes of later phase between the two types of erythrocytes suggests that VE suppressed the reduction in permittivity. When the results were analyzed by the Pauly-Schwan's theory based on the assumption that erythrocytes are spherical, the product of VE-deficient or VE-sufficient erythrocyte size (R) and membrane capacity (Cm) showed a change similar to that in permittivity.