Carbonylation of Plasma Proteins and Blood Hemolysis Induced by the Action of External Electrostatic Field In Vitro

Abstract

Theexternal electrostatic field (ESF) leads to an increase of oxidative modification of proteinsand lipids in blood and in other tissues, as well as to changes in activity of pro- and anti-oxidative enzymes. The mechanism of such a response to the exposure of this physical factor is not well understood. In this paper the data on the influence of external ESF of 200 kV/m on carbonylation of plasma proteins and hemolysis of blood in vitro are presented. In order to clarify the role of blood cells in the development of oxidative processes in the plasma, ESF exposures were applied both to the whole blood and to the prior obtained plasma. In addition, samples were placed in closed and in open tubes, which allow to determine the role of air oxygen and air ions in the development of expected processes. It was shown that under the influence of external ESF plasma proteins’ carbonylation increased only when the whole blood was exposed to ESF and not the plasma alone. This indicates that the pro-oxidative processes, observed in plasma after ESF exposure, are mediated by the blood cells. Further, lysis and deformation of red blood cells were observed. Moreover, the deformation of red blood cells was most pronounced around monocytes and polymorph nuclear leukocytes, indicating the importance of these cells in the observed processes. The free air exchange had no significant effect on the results of experiments. Thus, in vitro experiments have shown that the effects of an ESF to oxidative processes in blood have been likely mediated by the activation of phagocytes independently from air ionization.