Stimulation of calcium-sodium exchange in dog red blood cells by hemolysis and resealing

Osmotic hemolysis and resealing greatly increase calcium influx in dog red blood cells. The resealed ghosts show a saturable calcium entry pathway with complex kinetics. As expected for a calcium-sodium exchanger, calcium uptake is stimulated by internal sodium and inhibited by external sodium. Compared to fresh, intact red cells the resealed ghost calcium-sodium exchanger is less responsive to quinidine and to alterations in medium tonicity. The differences in calcium uptake rate among cells from different donors are minimized in the ghost preparation. There are several ways to stimulate sodium-dependent calcium movements in these cells, of which hemolysis-resealing is the most potent. The results of these and previous studies suggest that dog red blood cells have a latent capacity for calcium-sodium exchange.