Figure 2. Effects of 5HMF on cell volume of red blood cells (RBCs) from patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).

Cell volume was measured by wet weight minus dry weight and expressed as ml water per g dry cell solids [ml (g d.c.s.)⁻¹] in RBCs maintained for 60 min under fully oxygenated conditions (Oxy), under continual deoxygenation (≤15 mmHg O₂), or under cycles of deoxygenation/re-oxygenation (Oxy/deoxy), in which oxygen tension was changed from 100 mmHg to 0 mmHg every 10 min. Data are means ± s.d., n = 3–7, and in all cases were paired experiments carried out in the absence and presence of 5HMF. #P < 0.05 for control oxygenated RBCs versus control RBCs under the different deoxygenation protocols. *P < 0.05 for deoxygenated RBCs in the absence of 5HMF versus those incubated in its presence. NS, for oxygenated and deoxygenated RBCs in the presence of 5HMF.