Assessment of Erythrocytes as a Model for In Vitro Drug Toxicity

Abstract

Mitochondria and lysosome have been used to study drug-cell interactions both in vitro and in vivo. However, their preparations to free them from other sub-cellular organelles are tedious and cumbersome. Erythrocytes (being a simple type of cells without sub-cellular organelles and very easy to obtain in pure form) was assessed for in-vitro toxicity testing of selected chemical compounds by monitoring the release of its hemoglobin content as an index of damage to cell membrane. Washed erythrocytes from male wistar rats were prepared in sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.5) incubated with and without acetylsalicylic acid (a membrane stabilizer) and chloroquine (a membrane labilizer). The light scattering properties of the suspensions and the hemoglobin released were determined using standard methods. Acetylsalicylic acid did not significantly alter the degree of hemolysis (P > 0.05) whereas the chloroquine alone as well as the mixture of acetylsalicylic acid and chloroquine significantly increased (P < 0.05) it. Acetylsalicylic acid stabilized the erythrocytes membrane while chloroquine destroys it causing lysis of the cell membrane. Results obtained in this study suggest that the drugs have interacted with the erythrocytes in a manner that corresponds to their mode of action. Erythrocytes can therefore be used to study interactions between drug molecules and cell membrane.