Steady state fluorescence polarization and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies on membranes of functionally senescent human erythrocytes.

Human erythrocytes were separated using Percoll/Albumin density gradient centrifugation into 5 subpopulations which represent cell subpopulations of different ages. The physico-chemical properties of the membranes and their lipid extracts, prepared from the 5 subpopulations, were studied by 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene fluorescence polarization and by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy respectively. The fluorescence polarization data show a decrease of membrane fluidity in the youngest erythrocyte fraction and the infrared spectroscopy reveals a lower degree of unsaturation of the lipids from this fraction. Changes of membrane fluidity among the 5 erythrocyte subpopulations is assigned to the variations of the degree of unsaturations of lipids rather than to variations of cholesterol content.