STUDIES ON THE PRESERVATION OF BLOOD: VI. THE INFLUENCE OF ADENOSINE AND INOSINE ON THE METABOLISM OF THE ERYTHROCYTE

Abstract

Inosine is as effective as adenosine in maintaining the organic phosphate esters in the erythrocytes during storage in the citrate–dextrose preservative medium. Adenosine undergoes deamination in the presence of erythrocytes with liberation of ammonia. The ammonia tends to counteract the increase in the hydrogen ion concentration caused by the glycolytic production of lactic acid. By maintaining the hydrogen ion concentration within the range favorable to the activity of hexokinase, adenosine tends to maintain the utilization of glucose in the preserved red cells. Inosine, on the contrary, does not resist the increase in hydrogen ion concentration of the cells during storage, hence the utilization of glucose rapidly becomes impaired and supplanted by the utilization of ribose derived from the nucleoside. The utilization of ribose remains practically unaffected by the increase in hydrogen ion concentration to pH 6.1. Ammonium ions stimulate the utilization of glucose by erythrocytes but in degree not sufficient to account for the full effect of adenosine.