EFFECTS OF ASCORBIC-ACID ON TERT-BUTYL HYDROPEROXIDE-INDUCED DEFORMABILITY DECREASE IN HUMAN ERYTHROCYTES

Treatment of human erythrocytes with micromolar concentrations of tert-butyl hydroperoxide causes changes in the physical properties of the cells as evidenced by decreased deformability. The deformability changes followed a lag period which was reciprocally related to the concentrations of hydroperoxide. Ascorbic acid was able to delay these changes or reverse them for a period of time. Oxidation of ascorbic acid was observed, under the same conditions, which was correlated to the ability of both oxy- and met-forms of haemoglobin to catalyse the oxidation of ascorbic acid by tert-butyl hydroperoxide. It seems likely that ascorbic acid acts both as inhibitor of the oxidative activation of haemoglobin, which leads to deformability changes and as substrate for the haemoglobin catalysed tert-butyl hydroperoxide decomposition.