Abstract
Lithium transport in human erythrocytes was investigated by /sup 7/Li NMR spectroscopy. The intra- and extracellular pools of Li/sup +/ were distinguished by the addition to the red cell suspension of a cell-impermeable shift reagent, dysprosium(III) triphosphate. It was found that, for therapeutic levels of lithium used in the US (where the typical plasma (Li/sup +/) concentration range is 0.5-1.2 mM), a shift reagent concentration of 3 mM is sufficient to achieve clear chemical shift separation between the two /sup 7/Li/sup +/ NMR resonances. Despite competition between Li/sup +/ and other mono- and divalent cations for the shift reagent, the intra and extracellular /sup 7/Li/sup +/ NMR signals are clearly separated (approximately 3 ppM) even in the presence of physiologically relevant concentrations of Na/sup +/, K/sup +/, Mg/sup 2+/, and Ca/sup 2+/. Addition of an ionophore, monesin, to a K/sup +/-only RBC (red blood cell) suspension induces passive Li/sup +/ transport, which can be monitored by following the relative intensities of the two /sup 7/Li/sup +/ resonances. It is concluded that the /sup 7/Li NMR method is suitable for the noninvasive study of Li/sup +/ transport in human erythrocytes and that it shows great promise as a tool for themore » investigation of the bioinorganic chemistry of lithium. 24 references, 3 figures, 1 table.« less
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