Medical Hypotheses
Volume 59, Issue 1 , Pages 105-109, July 2002

A hypothesis of haemolysis in haemolytic anaemias associated with enzymopathies

  • P. Wong

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Pierre Wong, PhD, Department of Oncology, McGill University, 546 Pine Ave. West, Montreal, Que., Canada H2W 1S6. Phone: +514-398-5940; fax: +514-398-5111

Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Que., Canada

Received 20 November 2001; accepted 13 February 2002.

Abstract 

A feature of a previously proposed mechanism of erythrocyte shape control is a control of the shape by the Donnan equilibrium ratio. An enzymopathy of the glycolytic pathway and nucleotide metabolism could alter the Donnan ratio, since it alters levels of phosphate intermediates and of end-products carbonic gas (CO2) and ammonia gas (NH3) which are ionized at the erythrocyte pH. Thus, a hypothesis of haemolysis in haemolytic anaemias associated with enzymopathies of the glycolytic pathway and nucleotide metabolism would be that it results from an inhibition of the mechanism by a modification of the Donnan ratio. This hypothesis seems plausible as it would explain coherently observations in these haemolytic anaemias.

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PII: S0306-9877(02)00154-8

Medical Hypotheses
Volume 59, Issue 1 , Pages 105-109, July 2002

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