Abstract
Summary
We have studied the sequential changes of cholesterol content and morphology in RBC of cholesterol-fed GP and the effects of these changes on their energy metabolism and osmotic fragility. The results suggest that (i) spurring of GP RBC is not accompanied by obvious alterations in their energy metabolism and may be the end result of sequential shape transformations associated with cholesterol-loading, and (ii) neither the morphological abnormalities nor the decreased osmotic fragility of cholesterol-loaded RBC is directly related to the development of the hemolytic anemia.
Our thanks go to Dr. T. Hayes, Donner Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, for the scanning electronmicrograph and for permission to publish it. The replicate experiment (Table I, Expt. 2) was carried out by Jacqueline Fields.
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