Effects of dietary hyperlipidemia-hypercholesterolemia on rat erythrocytes.

We report in the present work that membrane fluidity in erythrocytes from rats under alimentary hyperlipidemia-hypercholesterolemia is slightly diminished despite the fact that in these cells the cholesterol/phospholipid molar ratio is nearly 45% higher than in erythrocytes from control animals. In addition, the erythrocyte count in the rats given the high-fat, high-cholesterol diet was normal. Only a slight reticulocytosis was observed in these animals although their erythrocytes showed a marked decrease in their ability to extrude sodium actively. A tentative explanation for these results is proposed on the basis of other findings suggesting cellular compensatory mechanisms.