Pentavalent antimony uptake pathway through erythrocyte membranes: molecular and atomic fluorescence approaches

Previous studies by our group have shown that Sb(V) is able to enter red blood cells in a dynamic process and is reduced to Sb(III) by glutathione. The present study aims to investigate a possible entry pathway for Sb(V) through the erythrocyte membrane. Applying fluorescence spectroscopy studies with Laurdan and diphenylhexatriene (DPH) probes, it was found that there was no interaction between Sb(V) and membrane lipids. By comparing the Sb(V) entry percentages through lipid vesicles and sealed erythrocyte membranes, it was found that Sb(V) required protein channels to pass through the membrane. The competitive inhibition results using HCO 3 − and Cl − showed that the Sb(V) uptake rate through the membrane fell approximately 50–70 % until full inhibition was reached, which was possibly due to the inhibition of the anion exchanger 1 (AE1) channel. Finally, the fluorescence measurements with the 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein (5-IAF) probe showed that Sb(V) interacted with membrane protein SH groups during this process.