Redox metabolism of vitamin C in blood of normal and malaria-infected mice.

As oxidative mechanisms have been suggested to be part of the host immune reaction against malarial parasites, we investigated the redox metabolism of the antioxidant vitamin C in the blood of control and malaria-infected mice. At the peak of infection (day 6) with the malaria parasite P. vinckei, plasma levels of ascorbate (AH-) were 10.8 +/- 0.9 micrograms/ml compared to 5.7 +/- 0.7 micrograms/ml in control mice, though no significant change was observed in the plasma concentration of dehydroascorbate (DHA). The plasma redox ratio of vitamin C, [AH-]:[DHA], was 7.4 in control mice and 18.5 in infected mice on day 6 post-inoculation. The increased AH- level in plasma of P. vinckei-infected mice was not due to differences in stabilities of either AH- or DHA in plasmas from control or P. vinckei-infected mice. DHA added to plasma was lost rapidly. In contrast, when added to whole blood. DHA was rapidly taken up and reduced to AH by blood cells from both normal mice and P. vinckei-infected mice. Most of the intracellular AH- derived from the exogenously added DHA was released into the plasma by blood cells from the infected but not normal mice. The observed release of AH- into the plasma by blood cells from infected mice was not caused by a plasma factor. Depletion of leukocytes from erythrocytes had no effect on the uptake and reduction of DHA by red blood cells, but the subsequent release of intracellular AH- occurred more rapidly.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)