CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE ACTIVITY AND GLUTATHIONE STABILITY OF HUMAN ERYTHROCYTES

ALVING et al.1 have shown that primaquine-sensitive erythrocytes are deficient in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) activity and a similar abnormality has also been found in fava-sensitive erythrocytes2. Consequent on their diminished G-6-PD activity, such cells have an unstable reduced glutathione-level (GSH) when exposed to various oxidizing agents3,4. Estimations of GSH stability are defined more clearly when glucose is added to the test system5. Under these conditions, little reduction in the GSH-level occurs when either fava-sensitive or normal erythrocytes are incubated at 37° C for 24 h, whereas a significant decrease, limited to the fava-sensitive cells, is found after incubation for a further 2 h at 37° C with acetylphenylhydrazine (APH). This final post-incubation GSH-level has been used to distinguish fava-sensitive from normal erythrocytes5.