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Research Article Free access | 10.1172/JCI106025

Alterations of red blood cell sodium transport during malarial infection

Michael J. Dunn

1Division of Medicine, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D. C. 20012

Find articles by Dunn, M. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Published April 1, 1969 - More info

Published in Volume 48, Issue 4 on April 1, 1969
J Clin Invest. 1969;48(4):674–684. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI106025.
© 1969 The American Society for Clinical Investigation
Published April 1, 1969 - Version history
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Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that malaria induces changes in erythrocytic membrane permeability and susceptibility to osmotic lysis. The present study investigated erythrocytic transport of sodium with cells from Rhesus monkeys infected with Plasmodium knowlesi. Red blood cell sodium concentration was significantly elevated in 37 parasitized animals (21.8±1.2 mM; mean ±SEM), as compared to 23 control animals (10.0±0.38 mM). The cellular sodium increased with the density of parasitemia and the cellular potassium decreased in proportion to the elevation of sodium. Nonparasitized as well as parasitized erythrocytes possessed this abnormality of cation metabolism. Effective chloroquine therapy reversed the changes over a period of 4 days.

Active sodium outflux rate constants were depressed in animals with malaria (0.202±0.012), as compared to controls (0.325±0.027). Passive sodium influx rate constants were higher in infected monkeys (0.028±0.002) than in control animals (0.019±0.002). The cross incubation of malarial plasma with normal red blood cells induced a 22% diminution in active sodium outflux but no changes were observed in sodium influx.

It is concluded that malaria alters erythrocytic sodium transport in all erythrocytes. The elevated intracellular sodium concentration is the net result of decreased sodium outflux and increased sodium influx. The plasmodium organism or the affected host may produce a circulating substance that is deleterious to erythrocytic membrane cation transport.

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