A laser light scattering technique was used to observe the extent of hemoglobin aggregation in solitary red blood cells of sickle cell anemia. Hemoglobin aggregation was confirmed in deoxygenated cells. The light scattering technique can also be applied to cytoplasmic studies of any biological cell.
Nitrendipine, nifedipine and verapamil inhibit the in vitro formation of irreversibly sickled cells. Using a method of forming both dehydrated cells and irreversibly sickled cells in vitro by repeated cycles of sickling and unsickling, the effects of several drugs in inhibiting the formation of these cells were studied. Drugs known as Ca2+ channel antagonists, such as nitrendipine, nifedipine and verapamil were found to inhibit these reactions. Other types of calcium channel blockers, such as lanthanum and zinc, did not inhibit the formation of these cells. The potency of drugs to inhibit irreversibly sickled cell formation was related to the potency of inhibition of calmodulin-activated phosphodiesterase.
New prostaglandin oligomeric derivatives, termed MR-256 and MR-356, were found to inhibit the growth of murine malarial parasites, P. chabaudi and P. vinckei, within red blood cells in vivo. When mice were infected with P. chabaudi, both MR-256 and MR-356 suppressed the growth of parasites, but MR-356 had a greater inhibitory effect than MR-256. With P. vinckei, MR-356 also inhibited the growth of parasites, and improved the survival rate. The effect of MR-256 was much less. A possible inhibitory mechanism of action of these drugs is discussed.
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