Summary
Erythrocytes from myotonic goats, an animal model of heritable myotonia, and normal goats were studied using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance (ST-EPR) spin labeling techniques. Three fatty acid spin labels with the nitroxide moiety at progressively greater distances from the carboxyl group were used to monitor different regions within the erythrocyte membrane. Since spin labels have been shown to induce hemolytic and morphologic alterations in erythrocytes, conditions for minimizing these alterations were first defined by hemolysis studies and scanning electron microscopy. Using these defined conditions for our studies we observed no significant differences in any of the EPR or ST-EPR parameters for normal and myotomic goat erythrocytes with any of the fatty acid spin labels used. Our results do not support the theory that myotonia is the result of a generalized membrane defect characterized by increased membrane fluidity as determined by fatty acid spin labels.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bessis, M., Weed, R.I. 1972. Preparation of red blood cells (RBC) for SEM. A survey of various artifacts.In: Scanning Electron Microscopy. O. Johari and I. Corvin, editors. p. 289. IIT Research Institute, Chicago
Bieri, V.G., Wallach, D.F.H., Lin, P.S. 1974. Focal erythrocyte membrane perturbations caused by nitroxide lipid analogues.Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 71:4797
Butterfield, D.A., Chesnut, D.B., Appel, S.H., Roses, A.D. 1976. Spin label study of erythrocyte membrane fluidity in myotonic and Duchenne muscular dystrophy and congenital myotonia.Nature (London) 263:159
Butterfield, D.A., Chesnut, D.B., Roses, A.D., Appel, S.H. 1974a. Electron spin resonance studies of erythrocytes from patients with myotonic muscular dystrophy.Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 71:909
Butterfield, D.A., Roses, A.D., Cooper, M.L., Appel, S.H., Chesnut, D.B. 1974b. A comparative electron spin resonance study of the erythrocyte membrane in myotonic muscular dystrophy.Biochemistry 13:5078
Butterfield, D.A., Watson, W.E. 1977. Electron spin resonance studies of an animal model of human congenital myotonia: Increased erythrocyte membrane fluidity in rats with 20,25-diazacholesterol-induced myotonia.J. Membrane Biol. 32:165
Griffith, O.H., Jost, P.C. 1976. Lipid spin labels in biological membranes.In: Spin Labeling. L.J. Berliner, editor. p. 453. Academic Press, New York
Mason, R.P., Giavedoni, E.B., Dalmasso A.P. 1977. Complement-induced decrease in membrane mobility: Introducing a more sensitive index of spin-label motion.Biochemistry 16:1196
McCalley, R.C., Shimshick, E.J., McConnell, H.M. 1972. The effect of slow rotational motion on paramagnetic resonance spectra.Chem. Phys. Lett. 13:115
Plishker, G.A., Gitelman, H.J., Appel, S.H. 1978. Myotonic muscular dystrophy: Altered calcium transport in erythrocytes.Science 200:323
Roses, A.D. 1977. Erythrocytes in dystrophies.In: Pathogenesis of Human Muscular Dystrophies. L.P. Rowland, editor. p. 648. Excerpta Medica, Amsterdam
Roses, A.D., Appel, S.H. 1973. Protein kinase activity in erythrocyte ghosts of patients with myotonic muscular dystrophy.Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 70:1855
Sato, B., Nishikida, K., Samuels, L.T., Tyler, F.H. 1978. Electron spin resonance studies of erythrocytes from patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.J. Clin. Invest. 61:251
Swift, L.L., Atkinson, J.B., LeQuire, V.S. 1979. The composition and calcium transport activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum from goats with and without heritable myotonia.Lab. Invest. 40:384
Swift, L.L., LeQuire, V.S., Olson, W.H. 1974. Membrane composition of sarcoplasmic reticulum from normal and myotonic goats.Fed. Proc. 33:629
Thomas, D.D., Dalton, L.R., Hyde, J.S. 1976. Rotational diffusion studied by passage saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance.J. Chem. Phys. 65:3006
Wilkerson, L.S., Perkins, R.C., Jr., Roelofs, R., Swift, L., Dalton, L.R., Park, J.H. 1978. Erythrocyte membrane abnormalities in Duchenne muscular dystrophy monitored by saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 75:838
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Swift, L.L., Atkinson, J.B., Perkins, R.C. et al. Electron paramagnetic resonance and saturation transfer electron paramagnetic resonance studies on erythrocytes from goats with and without heritable myotonia. J. Membrain Biol. 52, 165–172 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01869122
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01869122