Abstract

PADRON-NIEVES, M; COLINA, VL; LAMANNA, V  and  PEREZ-GONZALEZ, M. Normalización de la Medición de la actividad de la Na⁺/K⁺-Atpasa en Glóbulos Rojos Humanos. RFM [online]. 2002, vol.25, n.1, pp.55-58. ISSN 0798-0469.

Red cell ghosts (RCG) obtained from humans (n=65; age: 30 a 60 years) showed a Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activiy of 1,68 ± 0,08 nmoles Pi/mg proteína x min. There was no difference due to sex or between samples obtained during fast or after a normal meal. If the blood is not processed inmediately it has to be kept at 0°C. Once the RCG are obtained (0°C), the enzyme activity is mantained during 4 hours; however, it decreases significantly 24 or 48 hours later. The RCG stored at -40°C mantained the enzimatic activity during 48 hours. In two subjects receiving digoxin during one week we saw a decrease in the enzyme activity since the first day (17% and 22% less than control). There was no correlation between the plasma concentrations (always below 0,7 ng/ml) and the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activiy. Conclusion: we propose a clinically useful method to determinate the activity of the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase in human red blood cells.

Keywords : Na/K ATPase activity; Digital; Human red cell ghost.