Submitted on November 22, 2002
Accepted on May 1, 2003
Acridine orange induces translocation of phosphatidylserine to red blood cell surface
Alexander Koshkaryev1, Saul Yedgar1*, Hanna Relevy2, Eithan Fibach3, and Gregory Barshtein1
1 Department of Biochemistry, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
2 Blood Bank, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
3 Department of Hematology, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: yedgar{at}md2.huji.ac.il.
Clustering of band-3 on red blood cell (RBC) surface has been assumed to catalyze RBC phagocytosis. In studying this subject, acridine orange (AO) has commonly been employed, on the assumption that it specifically induces band-3 clustering. In the present study we demonstrate that AO strongly induces translocation of phosphatidyl-serine (PS) to RBC surface. Since surface PS is well known to induce RBC intercellular interaction, these findings suggest that the use of AO as a specific inducer of band-3 clustering is questionable. It is possible that band-3 clustering and PS translocation are interdependent, and this interrelationship has yet to be explored.
