Protective effect of alpha-tocopherol on the morphological and rheological changes of rat red cells.
The effect of alpha-tocopherol on the rheological properties of rat red cells was studied. The suspension viscosity of red cells increased, as the alpha-tocopherol content in red cells decreased. The red cells gradually transformed to echinocytes in isotonic solution dependent on the alpha-tocopherol content. The unique correlations among the viscosity, the transformation, and alpha-tocopherol content were observed. It was shown that the increased suspension viscosity of alpha-tocopherol-deficient cells could have arisen from the difficulty of echinocytes to undergo high shear deformation. The possible mechanism is discussed.
D000818:Animals; D001809:Blood Viscosity / Q000187:drug effects; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices / Q000187:drug effects; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000032:analysis / Q000187:drug effects; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004913:Erythrocytes, Abnormal / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000097:blood; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012212:Rheology; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*
D008563:Membrane Lipids; D010743:Phospholipids; D014810:Vitamin E; D002784:Cholesterol