Glycerol-induced hemolysis of mammalian erythrocytes and inhibition of the lysis by fructose

Abstract

The mechanisms of glycerol-induced hemolysis and inhibition of the lysis by fructose were studied. Energy of activation, entropy of activation, and free energy of activation for the hemolytic process were calculated from the data on temperature change in the rate of hemolysis. The values of the thermodynamic quantities thus obtained indicated that the temperature change in the rate of hemolysis is brought about mainly by that in the viscosity of liquid. The presence of fructose in the hemolytic systems caused a reduction in both energy of activation and entropy of activation while free energy of activation remained almost unchanged. Pretreatment of erythrocytes with glycerol gave rise to complete hemolysis of the cells in hypotonic as well as hypertonic saline solutions. Thus, it appears that glycerol releases a portion of the lipids of the cell membrane into the surrounding medium and dehydrates the membrane, thereby promoting hemolysis. Fructose was considered to prevent dehydration of the membrane by glycerol. © 1977, The Japanese Pharmacological Society. All rights reserved.