Effects of cardiac glycosides and other lactones, and of certain other compounds, on cation transfer in human erythrocytes

The work to be reported in this paper was begun on the basis of two comi-siderations. The first is that the mechanisms of certain responses of physiological systems are closely related to the manner in which the systems handle the cations sodiUm and potassium. The second is the conjecture that at least some of the actions of pharmacologic agents on these systems may depeiid upon effects on the exchange of sodium amid potassium. Several examples exist of the influence of drugs upon the movements of cations in skeletal muscle, the heart and axons during excitation (Guttman and Cattell, 1940; Hajdu, 1953; Shanes, 1952). We have chosen to study the influence of drugs upon the catioii exchange of human erythrocytes because of the relative simplicity of red cells as a tissue, the ease of making the crucial measurements here, and the fuller current knowl-edge of cation transport in the red cell as compared with other tissues. We make this choice despite the possibility that the mechanisms of cation exchange may be different in red cells from those involved in the responses of the excitable tissues