Electron spin resonance studies of erythrocytes from patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The membrane organization of the erythrocytes from patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy was studied by means of electron spin resonance. The fluidity of the membrane near the polar region of Duchenne muscular dystrophy erythrocytes was similar to that of normal erythrocytes. The membrane environment in the nonpolar region, however, was quite different from that of normal erythrocytes, judged by the spectra with 2-(14-carboxytetradecyl) - 2 - ethyl - 4,4 - dimethyl - 3 - oxazolidinyloxyl as probe. The temperature dependence of the ratio of the line height of central field to that at the low field showed two inflection points in normal erythrocytes at pH 7.4 (13.5 degrees -16.5 degrees and 37.5 degrees -40.5 degrees C, respectively) but the inflection point in the lower temperature range was not detected in Duchenne muscular dystrophy erythrocytes. When pH was varied, an abrupt decrease in the ratio was observed at pH 5.9-5.6 in normal erythrocytes whereas there was a gradual decrease over the range of pH from 6.6 to 5.0 in Duchenne muscular dystrophy erythrocytes. The rate of reduction of the radical 2-(3-carboxypropyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-tridecyl-3-oxazolidinyloxyl by ascorbate in normal erythrocytes was faster than that in Duchenne muscular dystrophy erythrocytes. Treatment of both erythrocytes with phloretin markedly reduced the rate of reduction by ascorbate and eliminated the difference in the two types of erythrocyte. These results indicate that in Duchenne muscular dystrophy the erythrocyte membrane is involved as well as the muscle cell.