The Role of Serum in Acanthocyte Autohemolysis and Membrane Lipid Composition.

Experiments reported in the accompanying paper (1) showed that an abnormally high percentage of red cells from patients with acanthocytosis hemolyze when incubated at 370 or 40 C for 48 hours. This abnormal lysis was inhibited by heparin, supplementary glucose, and additions of normal serum. This report partially identifies the components of normal serum that inhibit such autohemolysis and the lipid composition and autohemolytic behavior of "older" and younger cells separated by centrifugation. The implications and interrelationships of these data are discussed.