Organotin-mediated exchange diffusion of anions in human red cells

Organotin cations (R3Sn+) form electrically neutral ion pairs with monovalent anions. It is demonstrated that the tin derivatives induce exchange diffusion of chloride in red cells and resealed ghosts, without any detectable increase of membrane permeability to net movements of chloride ions. The obligatory anion exchange is believed to be due to the permeation of electroneural ion pairs, whereas the organic cation (R3Sn+) has an extremely low membrane permeability. Exchange fluxes of chloride increased with the lipophilicity of the substituting group (R3). At the same molar concentration of organotin, the relative potencies of the tin derivatives as anion carriers (with trimethyltin as a reference) were: methyl 1, ethyl 30, propyl = phenyl 1,00, and butyl 10,000. Tributyltin-mediated anion exchange was studied in detail. The organotin-induced anion transport increased through the sequence: F- less than Cl- less than Br- less than I- = SCN- less than OH-. Partitioning of tributyltin into red cell membranes was greater in iodide than in chloride media (partition coefficients 6.6 and 1.7 x 10(-3) cm, respectively). Bicarbonate, fluoride, nitrate, phosphate, and sulphate did not exchange with chloride in the presence of tributyltin. Chloride exchange fluxes increased linearly with tributylin concentrations up to 10(-5) M, and with chloride concentrations up to at least 0.9 M. The apparent turnover number for tributyltin-mediated chloride exchange increased from 15 to 1,350 s-1 between 0 and 38 degrees C. These figures are minimum turnover numbers, because it is not known what fraction of the organotin in the membrane exists as chloride ion pairs.