Previous studies have demonstrated that an additive
solution containing
ammonium chloride (NH4+) and
phosphate (Pi) in addition to
adenine,
glucose and
mannitol would support red blood cell (RBC) in vitro characteristics and in vivo 24-hour viability after storage for 9 weeks. The purpose of the present study was to determine if NH4+ generated by the action of
glutaminase on
glutamine could be substituted for added NH4+
salts. Packed RBCs were stored with equal volumes of
adenine,
glucose,
mannitol, and
citrate containing additive solutions with 10 mM
glutamine (EAS 31) or with 10 mM
glutamine and either 10 (EAS 36) or 20 mM (EAS 37) Pi. One aliquot was stored with
Adsol. The mean
ATP levels of the RBCs stored in the
glutamine plus
phosphate EASs were 132 (10 mM Pi) and 144% (20 mM Pi) of the initial levels at 28 days, and at 84 days remained at 48 and 56%, respectively. The
ATP levels of the RBC stored in
Adsol were 105 and 25% at 28 and 84 days of storage, respectively. Percentage
hemolysis and vesiculation was significantly lower (p < 0.01) for RBCs stored in
glutamine and
glutamine plus
phosphate as compared to RBCs stored in
Adsol. The levels of NH4+ were 22 to 34% higher in the EASs than in
Adsol at the end of 84 days of storage, suggesting that
glutamine is broken down by
glutaminase to generate NH4+. The mean corpuscular volumes (MCVs) of RBCs in EASs 36 and 37 were substantially higher than in
Adsol throughout the course of storage (p < 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)