Rheological and kinetic dysfunctions of the cholesterol-loaded,human erythrocytes

The influences of the membrane cholesterol on the rheological and functional properties of the human erythrocytes were studied. As the cholesterol/phospholipid molar ratio is artificially increased, (i) the viscosity of the erythrocyte suspension slightly increases, (ii) the deformability, expressed by the “easiness” to enter into a small orifice, decreases and (iii) the rate of the oxygen egress from the erythrocytes is retarded. These changes may be primarily due to the condensing effect of cholesterol in the lipid portion of the cell membrane, because of the similarity of the other biochemical and morphological factors among the samples.