Thermal instability of red blood cell membrane bilayers: temperature dependence of hemolysis

Rates of human red blood cell hemolysis were measured as a function of temperature. Three distinct temperature intervals for hemolysis were noted: a) At temperatures equal to or less than 37 degrees C no hemolysis was observed for the duration of the incubation (30 hr). b) For temperatures exceeding...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of membrane biology 1988-01, Vol.101 (1), p.67-72
Main Authors: GERSHFELD, N. L, MURAYAMA, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Cell membranes. Ionic channels. Membrane pores
Cell structures and functions
Erythrocyte Membrane - physiology
erythrocytes
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hemolysis
Humans
Kinetics
Lipid Bilayers
man
Membrane Lipids - blood
Molecular and cellular biology
Phospholipids - blood
Temperature
Thermodynamics
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Summary:Rates of human red blood cell hemolysis were measured as a function of temperature. Three distinct temperature intervals for hemolysis were noted: a) At temperatures equal to or less than 37 degrees C no hemolysis was observed for the duration of the incubation (30 hr). b) For temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C hemolysis rates are rapid and are accompanied by gross changes in cellular morphology. The activation energy for hemolysis is 80 kcal/mole; this value is characteristic of protein denaturation and enzyme inactivation suggesting that these processes contribute to hemolysis at these high temperatures. c) Between 38 and 45 degrees C the energy of activation is 29 kcal/mole, indicating that a fundamentally different process than protein inactivation is responsible for hemolysis at these relatively low temperatures. A mechanism based on the concept of the critical bilayer assembly temperature of cell membranes (N.L. Gershfeld, Biophys. J. 50:457-461, 1986) accounts for hemolysis at these relatively mild temperatures: The unilamellar state of the membrane is stable at 37 degrees C, but is transformed to a multibilayer when the temperature is raised; hemolysis results because formation of the multibilayer requires exposing lipid-free areas of the erythrocyte surface. An analysis of the activation energy for hemolysis is presented that is consistent with the proposed unilamellar-multibilayer transformation.
ISSN:0022-2631
1432-1424
DOI:10.1007/bf01872821