Inhibition of erythrocyte sickling in vitro by DL-glyceraldehyde.

Abstract

Concentrations of DL-glyceraldehyde between 5 and 20 mM reduce the sickling of [human] S/S erythrocytes even in the complete absence of O2; at 10 mM glyceraldehyde the increase in the number of normal cells ranges from 20-40%. The inhibition of sickling was concentration- and time-dependent and was not reversed by repeated washings with buffer. Incubation of erythrocytes with increasing concentrations of glyceraldehyde resulted in only a small increase in the O2 affinity, a moderate reduction in the Hill coefficient, a substantial increase in the minimum gelling concentration and modification of up to 2 lysine residues per Hb molecule.