Cl- permeabilities in red blood cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes from cystic fibrosis and control subjects.

Recent studies have identified abnormalities in Cl- permeation across two target cystic fibrosis (CF) epithelia (sweat duct and respiratory epithelium). In the present study, anion conductances of red blood cells (RBCs) and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) from CF and normal subjects were estimated and compared. For RBCs, the valinomycin-induced rate constant for K+ loss (PK+) was taken as an index of PCl-. For PBLs, the secondary volume increase after gramicidin pretreatment and hypotonic (0.67 X isotonic) stress was used to estimate PCl-. The Cl- permeabilities of RBCs and PBLs from CF and control subjects were comparable. These findings suggest that the abnormality in PCl- reported for CF sweat ductal and respiratory epithelia is not expressed in circulating blood elements.