Studies on glutathione reductase and methemoglobin from human erythrocytes parasitized with Plasmodium falciparum.

An improved protein-blotting procedure and a thin layer isoelectric focusing technique are introduced to study glutathione reductase and methemoglobin (Met-Hb). According to our results, there is only one form of glutathione reductase in normal red blood cells. A similar protein was shown to be present at higher concentration in isolated merozoites. Both proteins have a subunit Mr of ca. 50,000 and react with anti-human glutathione reductase serum. Red cells with schizonts do not possess a higher proportion of Met-Hb than non-parasitized erythrocytes. This finding suggests that Met-Hb is not an indicator of metabolic alterations in malaria-infected erythrocytes.