The kinetics of colloid osmotic hemolysis. I. Nystatin-induced lysis.

A kinetic model of colloid osmotic hemolysis for cation-permeable cells has been developed. The model consists of three essential components. The first is a set of flux equations, under the assumption that the membrane potential is equal to the chloride equilibrium potential and that cation fluxes are described by the Goldman flux equation. The second is the osmotic equilibrium model of Freedman and Hoffman that takes into account the non-ideal osmotic behavior of erythrocytes. The third is an empirical relation between hemolysis and cell volume, developed from the lysis behavior in hypoosmotic media. Model simulations are compared with lysis experiments using the antibiotic nystatin to raise cation permeability. The form of the kinetics and inhibition of lysis by sucrose are described well by the model. In additional lysis experiments at different external pH the small pH dependence is accounted for by the model.