Enzyme Loading of Erythrocytes

TLDR

Enzyme uptake occurs only during hemolysis, peaking within 60 s. Rapid hemolysis traps beta‑glucosidase and beta‑galactosidase inside erythrocytes without reducing cell count, slightly enlarging ghosts; smaller proteins enter more readily, but enzymes up to 180 kDa are also entrapped, suggesting a potential strategy for enzyme replacement therapies such as Gaucher's disease.

Abstract

We demonstrated that beta-glucosidase and beta-galactosidase can be trapped inside erythrocytes by rapid hemolysis of the cell in the presence of these enzymes. Enzyme enters only during hemolysis, and optimum uptake occurs within 60 sec. There is no loss in cell number after hemolysis-induced enzyme uptake, and the ghosts have only a slightly increased mean cell volume. Smaller proteins enter more readily than larger proteins, although enzymes with a molecular weight of at least 180,000 can be readily entrapped by erythrocytes. This finding may provide a useful approach to the problem of enzyme replacement in certain diseases, including Gaucher's disease.