The effects of ultra-low dose β-radiation on the physical properties of human erythrocyte membranes

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the effects of ultra-low dose beta-radiation (ULDBR) on the physical properties of human erythrocyte membranes.Materials and methods: To study the structural changes induced by β-radiation in erythrocyte ghosts, the interactions of fluorescent probes (1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate, pyrene) with the erythrocyte membranes were investigated. The fluorescent responses to the ULDBR were registered after the addition of 14C-leucine (37–3700 kBq(l−1) in the cellular suspension.Results: The ULDBR induced essential rearrangements of the membrane structure that appear in alterations of membrane spatial organisation, conformation of membrane proteins (structural flexibility, folding-unfolding), modification of surface and deep zones of membranes, lipid-protein interactions, and fluidity of annular lipids.Conclusions: These findings are evidence that, as previously discovered by us, the reversible effect of ULDBR on the zeta potential of human erythrocytes and the functional state of the membrane signal systems is most likely realised through local structural and dynamic rearrangements of macromolecules in cellular membranes.