[Na+, K+-ATPase activity and cholesterol content in erythrocyte membranes of patients with coronary atherosclerosis in various forms of dyslipoproteinemia].

Activity of Na+, K+-ATPase and the molar ratio "cholesterol/phospholipids" were estimated in erythrocyte membranes of patients with ischemic heart disease, in which an impairment of coronary arteries was documented by means of angiography. Distinct inhibition of the enzymatic activity as well as an increase in the ratio "cholesterol/phospholipids" was observed in erythrocyte membranes of all the patients; the alteration of these parameters was maximal in the patients with IIa and IIb forms of hyperlipoproteinemia. Reverse correlation (r = -0.604) was found between the enzymatic activity in erythrocyte membranes and the "atherogeneity coefficient" in blood plasma lipoproteins. The data obtained suggest that blood plasma lipoproteins are responsible for regulation of cholesterol content in cell membranes and, according to the membrane hypothesis of atherogenesis, this phenomenon is important in development of atherosclerosis.