Reconstitution of the anion exchange protein from human erythrocytes (band 3) into phospholipid vesicles was shown to have a protective effect on melittin lysis of the vesicles when compared to pure lipid vesicles. Low salt buffer was found to cause an inhibition of lysis in both proteoliposomes and pure lipid vesicles compared to salt buffer. High phosphate concentration did not seem to cause inhibition of lysis in the reconstituted system. However, an inhibition is observed in pure lipid vesicle control, which is contradictory to previous reports.