Assessment of Membrane Erythrocyte Cholesterol Level in Sickle Cell Disease

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the level of erythrocyte membrane cholesterol in sickle cell patients, which is one of the essential parameters of membrane fluidity that contributes to understanding the hemolytic state of the erythrocyte. Methods: We worked with blood specimens from 20 controls and 50 sickle cell patients. The blood count and the isoelectric focusing (IEF) were performed on the samples in order to select them. The titration of the erythrocyte membrane cholesterol was made after washing and lysing the erythrocytes with the hemolyzing solution (EDTA, 2 Mercapto-Ethanol, NADP, NaOH). The cholesterol level was assessed by the enzymatic colorimetric method. The results were analyzed by Student’s test. Results: We worked with 16 control subjects with a hemoglobin status and a normal hemogram. The evaluation of the erythrocyte membrane cholesterol level of the samples allows us to define the reference interval (α = 0.05) at 17.55 ± 3.83 mg of cholesterol/g of hemoglobin. The erythrocyte membrane cholesterol levels of sickle cell patients found in this study were 11.58 ± 2.98 mg cholesterol/g of hemoglobin. In this study, 38 sickle cell patients (76%) were found with a low erythrocyte membrane cholesterol level compared to the reference interval. Statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference (α = 5%) between the erythrocyte membrane cholesterol level of normal subjects and sickle cell patients. Conclusion: Most of the sickle cells patients had a decreased erythrocyte membrane cholesterol level. This reduces the membrane fluidity making the erythrocyte membrane rigid and more fragile. This may be one of the factors responsible for the lyses of erythrocytes.