Possible role of the erythrocyte in causing prolonged cerebral vasospasm.

Contractile activity of the various fractions of fresh and incubated blood was studied in vitro using the isolated canine basilar artery. Of the various fractions of fresh blood, significant contraction was induced by serum, but moderate contraction was induced by platelet-rich plasma and lysed red cells, while intact red cells and platelet-poor plasma had no significant activity. The contractions induced by serum and platelet-rich plasma were blocked by phenoxybenzamine, while those induced by lysed red cells were not. Whereas serum and platelet-rich plasma lost their contractile activity after 24 hours of incubation, lysed red cells retained activity up to 7 days after incubation. Biochemical analysis of the hemolysate by means of Sephadex column chromatography revealed that the contractile substance(s) possessed a molecular weight above 5000. These results suggest the possibility that the above substance(s) may play a role in prolonged cerebral vasospasm.