Effects of nitrate and nitrite, chemical intermediates of inhaled nitrogen dioxide, on membrane components of red blood cells of rats.

Rat blood was incubated at 37 degrees C for 60 min with either NaNO3 or NaNO2 to examine the relationship between the decrease in the hexose content and Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase activity of red cell membranes, and NO3- and NO2-. The hexose content decreased depending on the NaNO2 concentration up to 100 microM reaching 76% (p less than 0.05) of the control value. NaNO3 had little effect on the hexose content. On the other hand, the Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase activity decreased depending on the NaNO3 concentration up to 200 microM, where the activity reached 75% (p less than 0.01) of the control value. The effect of NaNO2 on this activity was smaller than that of NaNO3. The sialic acid content and the Na+,K+-ATPase activity did not show significant alterations by incubation with NaNO2 and NaNO3 at below 100 microM. To examine the in vivo effects of NO2- and NO3-, 50 mM NaNO3 was intravenously injected into rats five times at hourly intervals (dose: 1.0 ml/kg body weight), and blood was collected 1 hr after the last injection. The activities of Ca2+,Mg2+- and Na+,K+-ATPases of red cell membranes were decreased to 68% (p less than 0.05) and 80% of the control value, respectively. Reduction by injection of 50 mM NaNO2 was smaller than that by 50 mM NaNO3. The results show that the hexose content and the Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase activity of red cell membranes were decreased by NO-x that increased in the blood during short-term exposure of rats to NO2.