Mechanism of hemolysis of G-6-PD deficient red cells: changes in membrane lipids and polypeptides

Summary A study of red cell membrane polypeptide and lipid profiles in G-6-PD deficient subjects has been made. High membrane spectrin and lipid content was demonstrated in the red cells of drug sensitive G-6-PD deficient individuals, while it was normal in non-sensitive G-6-PD deficient subjects. An inverse relationship was observed between GSH level and spectrin content in the former group. Possible mechanism of increased spectrin content in relation to hemolysis is discussed.