Effect of prostaglandin E1 and polyphloretin phosphate on hemolysis of human erythrocytes.

Prostaglandin E1 was found to reduce the hemolysis rate induced by various factors, such as frequent shakings, treatment with hog pancreatic phospholipase A2, the addition of active oxygens generated by a xanthine oxidase system, and the addition of a prostaglandin antagonist, polyphloretin phosphate (PPP). Prostaglandin E1 was found to act on the erythrocytes in such a way as to cause the phospholipids in the membrane to become more compactly arranged thus becoming less susceptible to the attack of hemolytic reagents. It was observed that the extents of hemolysis were different between erythrocytes from males and females and furthermore, it was shown that prostaglandin E1 clearly reduced the rate of hemolysis of erythrocytes from males, while, in females, the effects of prostaglandin E1 were less than those in erythrocytes from males.