Diamond J M, Meier K, Gosenfeld L F, Jope R S, Jenden D J, Wright S M
J Psychiatr Res. 1982;17(4):385-93. doi: 10.1016/0022-3956(82)90043-7.
Li+/Na+ countertransport, choline transport, and intracellular Li+ and choline were measured in the RBC of a manic-depressive subject as a function of time after termination of Li+ therapy. Countertransport recovered from its inhibition by Li+ in 10 days. This recovery involved a decrease in the Michaelis-Menten parameter Km, without change in Vmax. RBC choline decreased, and choline influx rose, much more slowly back towards pre-Li+ values over the course of two months. Thus, choline transport was still inhibited long after Li+ levels in RBC and plasma had become undetectable. Measurements on age-separated RBC fractions showed that recovery of choline transport was mainly in the young-cell fraction. Hence inhibition of choline transport by Li+ may be irreversible at the level of the individual RBC.
