Glutathione regeneration in calcium-loaded erythrocytes: a possible relationship among calcium accumulation, ATP decrement and oxidative damage.

Glutathione (GSH) regeneration was studied in rabbit erythrocytes which were loaded with calcium using ionophore A23187. Calcium-loading induced by A23187 and various concentrations of CaCl2 caused a dose-dependent depression in red cell GSH regeneration. The lowered GSH regeneration was mainly due to reduction of ATP level. In an experiment using haemolysate, the effect of calcium per se was negligible, while magnesium strongly affected GSH regeneration by controlling the rate of hexokinase reaction. These results indicate a possibility that cation perturbation, metabolic decay and oxidative damage are all interrelated in the erythrocyte aging process.