Previous investigations on erythrocyte preservation (1-4) have demonstrated a marked effect of purine nucleosides on the metabolism of the red cell throughout storage. Attention has been focused upon the effect of adenosine in the maintenance of glucose metabolism and of high energy phosphate compounds, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). As a result, not only are the physical and chemical characteristics of the erythrocyte preserved, but the storage period, during which satisfactory post-transfusion viability is maintained, is extended to approximately twice that observed in acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD) preservative alone. It was postulated that the effect of adenosine was the result of an initial enzymatic conversion to inosine by a deaminase and the subsequent splitting of inosine to yield hypoxanthine and ribose-l-phosphate, mediated by a nucleoside phosphorylase (4, 5). Thus, it appeared that inosine might be the actual substrate for the initial enzymic reaction, and hence the preferred substance for viability studies. In order to evaluate a new preservative, it is desirable to correlate 1) the chemical characteristics of the stored red cells, 2) the ability of the cells to survive after transfusion, and 3) possible toxic effects of the preservative. Studies employing acid-citrate-dextroseinosine (ACDI) as a blood preservative are presented in this paper, as well as further investigations on the mechanism of action of purine nucleosides.
METHODSProcedures for the determination of phosphate partition, glucose, and osmotic fragility of erythrocytes have been described elsewhere (3,6).Inosine, adenosine, deoxyadenosine, and adenine were obtained from Schwarz Laboratories; guanine, xanthine,