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Ca-ATPase activity of human red cell ghosts: preeclampsia, lipid peroxidation and MgSO4
Patricia Gutiérrez1, Cilia Abad, Teresa Proverbio
1Laboratorio de Bioenergética Celular, Centro de Biofísica y Bioquímica, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Caracas, Venezuela.
Insights
Preeclampsia increases red blood cell lipid peroxidation, reducing Ca-ATPase activity. Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) treatment restored normal levels in both intact cells and red cell ghosts, indicating membrane integrity is key.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
- Obstetrics
Background:
- Preeclampsia is associated with increased red blood cell lipid peroxidation.
- This peroxidation is linked to diminished Ca-ATPase activity in red blood cells.
- Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) has shown potential in normalizing these parameters.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of red blood cell membrane integrity in preeclampsia-related changes.
- To determine if MgSO4 can reverse lipid peroxidation and Ca-ATPase activity changes in red blood cells and ghosts.
- To evaluate MgSO4's protective effects against oxidative damage in red blood cell membranes.
Main Methods:
- Intact red blood cells and red cell ghosts were used from normotensive pregnant women.
- Fenton's reagent and UV irradiation were employed to induce lipid peroxidation.
- Cells and ghosts were treated with MgSO4, and lipid peroxidation and Ca-ATPase activity were measured.
Main Results:
- Both Fenton's reagent and UV irradiation increased lipid peroxidation and decreased Ca-ATPase activity.
- MgSO4 treatment restored normal lipid peroxidation and Ca-ATPase activity in both intact cells and ghosts.
- MgSO4 demonstrated protective effects against UV-induced damage in red cell ghosts.
Conclusions:
- Red blood cell membrane integrity is crucial for the observed changes in lipid peroxidation and Ca-ATPase activity.
- MgSO4 effectively reverses oxidative damage and restores normal function to red blood cell membranes.
- These findings highlight MgSO4's potential therapeutic role in managing preeclampsia-related cellular dysfunction.
Abstract:
The increased level of lipid peroxidation of red blood cells during preeclampsia is considered to be responsible for the diminished Ca-ATPase activity in these cells. The level of lipid peroxidation and the Ca-ATPase activity of red blood cells from preeclamptic women, return to their normal values after in vivo and in vitro treatment with MgSO4 for 24 h. In order to evaluate whether or not cell intactness is essential for these changes, we used either intact red blood cells or red cell ghosts from normotensive pregnant women. The intact red blood cells were treated with Fenton's reagent and then incubated with 4 mM MgSO4. The red cells ghosts were irradiated with UV light and afterwards incubated with MgSO4 at 4 degrees C. Lipid peroxidation and Ca-ATPase activity were determined for all the preparations. Both, Fenton's reagent and UV irradiation increased the level of lipid peroxidation and diminished the Ca-ATPase activity of the red cell membranes. Incubation of the cells treated with Fenton's reagent, or the ghosts irradiated with UV, with 4 mM MgSO4, returned Ca-ATPase activity and lipid peroxidation levels to normal values. The presence of MgSO4 blocked the effects in the ghosts of UV irradiation. MgSO4 seems to better protect the red cell membrane against lipid peroxidation than other SO4= and Cl- salts. These results indicate that the changes in the lipid peroxidation of the red cell ghosts and their Ca-ATPase activity are a result of changes to the cell membranes.
