STUDIES ON THE PRESERVATION OF BLOOD: IV. THE INFLUENCE OF ADENOSINE ON THE GLYCOLYTIC ACTIVITY OF THE ERYTHROCYTE DURING STORAGE AT 4° C.

Abstract

Human blood was stored in citrate–dextrose and acidified citrate–dextrose media with and without the addition of adenosine. In both preservative media the adenosine induced an increase in the esterification of phosphate mainly in the form of 2, 3-diphosphoglycerate, and also an increased production of lactate. The increase in lactate formation could not be accounted for entirely by the amount of glucose utilized and it was apparent that the extra amount of lactate must have been derived from the utilization of the ribose component of adenosine. The pH of the blood samples containing adenosine was found to be higher than that of the corresponding control samples. It has been demonstrated that adenosine added to blood is first converted to inosine by deamination and the latter, in turn, is converted to hypoxanthine. The probable route by which the ribose moiety of adenosine is metabolized in the erythrocyte is discussed.