title: Changes in trichloroethylene-treated rat erythrocyte membranes in vitro.
abstract: Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a widely used organic solvent, the most important toxic effect of which is a narcotic central nervous (CNS) effect. In the present study we have used rat erythrocyte membranes as a nerve cell model for studying the changes in membrane integrity caused by TCE treatment. The parameters determined were osmotic resistance and the activities of acetylcholinesterase (AchE) and adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase), both of which are integral membrane proteins. TCE had a dose-dependent effect on all these parameters. It increased the osmotic resistance at low concentrations and caused a decrease at high concentrations. Enzyme inhibition was only significant at high solvent concentrations. Decrease of temperature potentiated these effects. Our results indicate that changes in membrane proteins may be the initial factor leading to other changes in the membrane, e.g. increased osmotic resistance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mäkinen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korpela
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tähti
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000097:blood; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000187:drug effects*; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D009996:Osmotic Fragility; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013696:Temperature; D014241:Trichloroethylene / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014241:Trichloroethylene; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases