Association between the glycation of erythrocyte membrane proteins and membrane fluidity.

Erythrocyte membrane ghosts prepared from normal individuals were incubated in vitro at different glucose concentrations for 72 h. Incubation with increasing concentrations of glucose resulted in increased glycation (nonenzymatic glycosylation) of membrane proteins and a decrease of erythrocyte membrane fluidity measured by the use of the fluorescent label pyrene. It would therefore seem likely that the changes in erythrocyte membrane fluidity previously reported in diabetic subjects (1-3) are related to in vivo glycation of membrane proteins as well as to changes in lipid composition, as was previously suggested (2).