Action of some hydroxyl radical scavengers on radiation-induced haemolysis

Human and bovine erythrocytes (RBCs) from peripheral blood were gamma-irradiated in vitro to a dose of 500 Gy in the presence of three efficient hydroxyl radical (OH) scavengers: ethanol, ethylene glycol and dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO). Bovine erythrocytes were strongly protected from radiation induced haemolysis by each of the three scavengers over a concentration range from 10(-4) to 10(-2) molar, presumably as a result of OH scavenging. Human cells were protected as efficiently as bovine RBCs by ethanol and ethylene glycol over the same concentration range, however DMSO failed to protect human cells from haemolysis over a six-decade concentration range up to one molar. Exogenously supplied vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) protected human RBCs from haemolytic effects of 500 Gy radiation in a dose-dependent fashion; however, bovine cells were not protected over the same concentration range. These preliminary results support evidence from model membrane systems suggesting that secondary radicals of DMSO generated during radiation may be of sufficient reactivity to initiate lipid peroxidation and are suggestive of species differences in the protection of biological membranes from oxidative stress.