Ultrastructure of erythrocyte membranes in thalassemia major and minor.

By J. F. HOFFMAN, I. J. WOLMAN, ,J. FIILLIER AND A. K. PAIuPART T HE ULTHASTRUCTURE of the isolated plasmssa nsemssbramses (ghosts) from nornsal hunsans erythrocytes has beers directly studied by Hillier ansd iloffmams5 umsimig the electrons mssicroscope. Thse reproducibility of the methods ensployed has beets further evaluated ansd the observationss extensded to the membramses of erythrocytes of several other issanssmssaliais species.6 There thins appears adequate nsorphological backgroutsd to apply these technics to the study of abnormal erythrocytes amid ins pamticular to those derived fronts patients with thalassemia niajor and mitior. There are mamiifestly three classes of insfornsatioms conscerninig the erythrocytes founsd ins T. major which suggest that their plasnia menibramies nsight be differenst fronn isormal : the characteristically abnornsal cellular shapes,t the reduced ins vivo survival times4’ 8 amid the chemical compositions of isolated plasnia memnbranses.3 Differensces ins permeability could comsstitute a fourth class but the existing measurememits (cf. Dicksteims et al.2) are at present onily suggestive. If these gross differences fromn miormal are expressions of alteratiomis at the molecular level thems a study of their mnemnbramse structure could reveal a morphologic basis for these differences. The evidemsce that these differensces are, ins fact, observable is presented below.