Assessment of red cell sodium transport in essential hypertension.
Abnormal erythrocyte Na+ transport has been reported in patients with essential hypertension and some first-degree relatives. The two major techniques now employed for estimating Na+ transport--Na+/Li+ countertransport and Na+/K+ cotransport--are rather intricate and time consuming. Furthermore, the precise nature of the transport processes being measured is not clear. We have developed a simpler, more direct technique based on measurement of 22Na+ accumulation by erythrocytes. 22Na+ uptake by red cells from patients with essential hypertension averages twice normal. Indeed, of 21 patients with essential hypertension, only 2 patients had values within the upper end of the normal range. In 12 patients with secondary hypertension and no family history of essential hypertension, erythrocyte 22Na+ accumulation was within normal limits. Control experiments indicate that our technique for estimating red cell 22Na+ uptake is highly reproducible and shows little day-to-day variation. This procedure for the assessment of erythrocyte Na+ transport should be useful in differential diagnosis and the presymptomatic identification of individuals genetically prone to essential hypertension.
D001692:Biological Transport; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008094:Lithium / Q000097:blood; D012964:Sodium / Q000097:blood*; D012979:Sodium Radioisotopes
D012979:Sodium Radioisotopes; D008094:Lithium; D012964:Sodium