Erythrocyte cation content, globin chain synthesis and glucose metabolism in dysmyelopoietic syndromes.

Red blood cells (RBC) from 13 patients suffering from dysmyelopoietic syndromes (DMPS) have been studied. About half of these subjects showed an abnormal Na+ and K+ leakage of their RBC, which were incubated at 37 degrees C for 24 h. The mean rate of the glycolytic pathway increased significantly and the glycolysis values correlated well with the Na+ gain. Moreover, 9 out of the 13 patients showed an abnormal biosynthetic ratio of haemoglobin chains in their reticulocytes. Since the multiple defects in DMPS erythrocytes do not seem clearly linked by cause-effect relationships, they probably derive from several cooperating factors in pathological erythroid precursors, leading to RBC membrane damage.