Effect of phenylhydrazine-induced structural alterations of human erythrocytes on basic drug penetration

The phospholipid organization, lipid fluidity and spectrin degradation were measured in human erythrocytes oxidized with phenylhydrazine, and the contribution of these structural alterations to the penetration of perazine and promethazine into the membrane was estimated. It was found that exposure of erythrocytes to phenylhydrazine (0.2--0.4 mg/ml) produced a 35--40% decrease in the amount of spectrin, with resultant gross morphological changes to the echinocyte conformation. The phosphatidylethanolamine content in the treated erythrocytes was greatly lowered compared with that in the untreated cells. Treatment with phenylhydrazine (0.05--0.2 mg/ml) dramatically diminished the lipid fluidity of the membrane, as estimated by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry, and the ESR study revealed increased restriction of the molecular motion of the hydrophobic core in the treated membrane. These results suggest a drastic alteration of the erythrocyte membrane structure. The amount of drugs which penetrated into the treated erythrocytes increased markedly with increasing phenylhydrazine concentration, suggesting enhanced membrane permeability and facilitated localization of the drugs in the hydrophobic regions due to the structural changes and partial disturbance of the lipid organization.