Oxygen consumption of erythrocytes from patients with various thyroid conditions related to their respective serum protein-bound iodine concentrations.

By LUIS ANGELONE, I)AvID H. WATKINS, AND CLIFFORD A. AN;EREIs I HAS been demonstrated for nomi-miucleated red (‘ells that their respiratory metabolism is comparable to that of other msormal resting tissues;’ that adrenalectomy causes about 73 per cent decreases in their oxygen uptake w’ith a return to normal followimsg appropriate therapy;2 that aging its vitro (storage) produces a decrease in their metabolism ; that roentgen rays, within the limits of the dosages employed iii vitro, give ats imscrease in their oxygen ‘onsumption ;4 and that the admitsistratioms of whole adretsal cortical extract prior to x-irradiatioms appears to “protect” against, or to amstagotsize, the induced increase in their metabolism.5 Although respiratory studies oms variations its the comscemstratiots of thyroid hormone in vivo have beets made oms isucleated erythrocytes, e.g., s ’hole l)lood of alligators6 and red cells of ducks,7 to our kmsow’ledge mso experimetstal data exist to show the effect of variatiomis its thyroid hormone comscehitratiohs on the respiratiots of nomi-nucleated red cells of any animal. This study was umsdertakems, first, to determine the effect of various thyroid hormone comicentrations on the respiratory metabolism of mson-msucleated erythrocytes, amid second , t o attempt