A hypothesis of haemolysis in haemolytic anaemias associated with enzymopathies.

A feature of a previously proposed mechanism of erythrocyte shape control is a control of the shape by the Donnan equilibrium ratio. An enzymopathy of the glycolytic pathway and nucleotide metabolism could alter the Donnan ratio, since it alters levels of phosphate intermediates and of end-products carbonic gas (CO(2)) and ammonia gas (NH(3)) which are ionized at the erythrocyte pH. Thus, a hypothesis of haemolysis in haemolytic anaemias associated with enzymopathies of the glycolytic pathway and nucleotide metabolism would be that it results from an inhibition of the mechanism by a modification of the Donnan ratio. This hypothesis seems plausible as it would explain coherently observations in these haemolytic anaemias.