Red blood cell aging as a model to influence pharmacologically the red cell filterability.

A method to filter whole blood through 5-micron filters at a pressure of 20 cm column of water and the use of aging red cells as a reproducible procedure to generate rigidified cells is described. The system is sensitive enough to evaluate in pharmacologic screening possible influences of chemical agents on red cell deformability. Investigations with the methylxanthine derivates pentoxifylline and theophylline, the beta-blocker penbutolol and prednisolone, revealed that only the first compound has a dose-dependent effect on red deformability.