Preservation of human erythrocytes for sodium-dependent lithium efflux rate measurements

Measurement of red blood cell ion transport levels have become increasingly important as biological markers in psychiatric research. A major drawback to large-scale collaborative studies of red blood cell lithium transport rates has been the requirements of fresh cells and a transport research laboratory for performance of the assays. We have developed a method for the preservation of human red blood cells for up to five days with retention of lithium efflux characteristics. This method should find wide-scale application in collaborative studies of this marker in major affective disorders, in genetic studies of families living in diverse geographic locales, and in collaborative studies utilizing a centralized transport assay laboratory.