Selective loss of calcium permeability on maturation of reticulocytes.

Abstract

Calcium and sodium permeability of human reticulocytes have been studied and compared to mature erythrocytes. Mature erythrocytes had extremely low Ca2+ permeability which was less than 0.1% of values published for squid axon or HeLa cells. Calcium entry was markedly increased in reticulocyte-rich suspensions and the uptake was linearly related to the percentage of reticulocytes present. The data suggest that reticulocytes are 43-fold more permeable to Ca2+ than mature cells although their Ca2+ concentration is not increased. Sodium influx into reticulocyte-rich suspensions was also increased in direct proportion to the percent of reticulocytes present. Reticulocytes are sixfold more permeab..