Abstract
THE function of the relatively large amount of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase which is present in erythrocytes is unknown. The enzyme was thought to be essential for the maintenance of normal permeability of the erythrocyte1, but experiments on cells deficient in acetylcholinesterase2 have failed to demonstrate this function. Interest in red-cell acetylcholinesterase has been stimulated by the recent finding that in some patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hæmoglobinuria (P.N.H.) the enzyme is deficient3. The enzyme activity in patients with P.N.H. varies from 6–134 per cent of average normal activity4, and there is a correlation between the degree of enzyme deficiency and some other features of P.N.H.4. It is thus possible that the shortened erythrocyte life-span in P.N.H. may be related to the enzyme deficiency, and that normal amounts of acetylcholinesterase are necessary for normal survival of erythrocytos.
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METZ, J., VAN RENSBURG, N., STEVENS, K. et al. Acetylcholinesterase and the Life-span of the Erythrocyte. Nature 190, 1208–1209 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/1901208a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1901208a0
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