Effect of cetiedil, an in vitro antisickling agent, on erythrocyte membrane cation permeability.

Cetiedil has been reported to relieve painful crises in sickle cell anemia and to have antisickling properties in vitro. The drug alters neither oxygen affinity nor the solubility of deoxyhemoglobin S. Because the viscosity of the erythrocyte interior and the kinetics of gelation are dependent on the concentration of hemoglobin, we postulated that cetiedil might inhibit sickling by modifying erythrocyte sodium or potassium movements in a manner that would increase cell water content and thus dilute the cell hemoglobin. The drug has two such effects: it inhibits the specific increase in potassium permeability that follows a rise in cytoplasmic calcium concentration and it causes a rise in passive sodium movements. These effects are further evidence that cell ion and water movements may be important in the process of sickling and suggest a mechanism for the results reported with cetiedil.