Abstract
Analytical protocols for the study of thalassemic erythrocyte membrane alterations are described. Denatured hemoglobin derivatives and aggregated band 3 are separated from detergent membrane extracts by gel-filtration as high-molecular-weight aggregates and quantitated spectrophotometrically. Membrane-bound, low-molecular-weight iron is measured on SDS-solubilized ghosts by a ferrozine-based colorimetric test. We adapted these methods for micro-scale preparation and analysis of erythrocyte ghosts in order to have suitable tools to estimate oxidative membrane damage in human samples. Data from 11 β-thalassemia intermedia patients and from 10 normal controls are reported as an example of the application of these methods.