THE MECHANISM OF THE INHIBITION OF HEMOLYSIS.

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Cell Biology
• Hematology

Background:

• Hemolysis, the breakdown of red blood cells, can be influenced by various substances.
• Plasma and serum are known to affect hemolytic processes.
• Previous studies have investigated acceleratory effects on hemolysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the inhibitory effects of plasma and serum on hemolysis.
• To compare these inhibitory effects with those of sugars, electrolytes, and known accelerators.
• To elucidate the mechanism of inhibition and acceleration at the red cell membrane level.

Main Methods:

• Studying hemolysis induced by saponin and other lysins.
• Analyzing the effects of plasma, serum, sugars, electrolytes, indol, and benzene.
• Measuring the inhibitory constant (R) and its relationship to inhibitor concentration.
• Investigating the temperature coefficient and dependence on red cell type.

Main Results:

• Plasma/serum inhibition of hemolysis is mechanistically similar to inhibition by sugars/electrolytes and acceleration by indol/benzene.
• Inhibitory and acceleratory effects result from reactions between modifiers and red cell membrane components targeted by lysins.
• The inhibitory constant (R) is linearly dependent on inhibitor concentration and influenced by lysin concentration and red cell type.
• Inhibition is not solely dependent on the protein content of plasma/serum.

Conclusions:

• Hemolysis, acceleration, and inhibition involve interactions between lysins, accelerators, inhibitors, and red cell membrane components.
• The red cell membrane is an ultrastructure with varying resistance, initiating lysis at the least resistant points.
• Accelerators/inhibitors likely alter lysin concentration at the membrane surface or partitioning, involving reversible and irreversible binding to membrane components.