Studies of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria erythrocytes: increased lysis and lipid peroxide formation by hydrogen peroxide.

When paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) erythrocytes were exposed to H(2)O(2) they lysed excessively and formed greater than normal quantities of lipid peroxides when compared to red cells of normal subjects and patients with most types of hematologic disease. It was also shown that lytic sensitivity to acidified serum was related to the enhanced lytic sensitivity to H(2)O(2). If the lipid of PNH cells was first extracted then exposed to ultraviolet radiation more lipid peroxides were formed than in extracts of normal red blood cells. The possible explanations for these findings and their relationship to the PNH hemolytic mechanism are discussed.