What
is the Source of Free Radicals Causing Hemolysis
in Stored Blood?
J. RACEK, R. HERYNKOVÁ1,
V. HOLEČEK, J. FALTYSOVÁ1 ,
I. KREJČOVÁ
Institute
of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory
Diagnostics and 1Transfusion Center, Charles
University Hospital, Pilsen, Czech Republic
Received October 11,
2000
Accepted January 19, 2001
Summary
The
quality of stored blood can be deteriorated by
hemolysis caused by free radicals. The purpose of
this study was to elucidate whether neutrophile
leukocytes are the source of free radicals in
stored blood as in hemodialyzed patients.
Resuspensions with low (LL) or high (HL)
leukocyte concentrations were prepared from
samples of twenty healthy volunteers. The samples
were incubated for 10 days at 4 °C and then for
one day at 37 °C. Markers of hemolysis and free
radical metabolism were examined before and after
incubation in LL and HL samples. In spite of the
difference of leukocytes counts in LL and HL
resuspensions (p<0.0001), the pre-incubation
values of all laboratory parameters were
practically identical. In post-storage samples,
superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase
activities did not differ in either group.
Reduced glutathione in erythrocytes and
extracellular antioxidant capacity were
insignificantly lower in HL resuspensions, but
the increase of malondialdehyde was much more
pronounced in the HL samples (p<0.0001). The
degree of hemolysis, expressed as the
extracellular increase of potassium (p<0.001),
hemoglobin (p<0.05) and lactate dehydrogenase
(p<0.05), was higher in the HL samples. Our
results support the hypothesis that leukocytes
participate in free radical production in stored
blood.
Key
words
Free
radicals · Hemolysis · Leukocytes
Reprint
requests
Prof.
J. Racek, MD, PhD., Institute of Clinical
Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, Charles
University Hospital, Alej Svobody 80, CZ-304 60
Plzeň, Czech Republic. Fax: + 420-19-710 4234 .
e-mail: racek@fnplzen.cz
|
