Hypertension and the Red Cell

Because of their availability and ease of manipulation, red cells have long been a favorite subject for students of membrane structure and function and many transport pathways have been identified in the red cell.¹ The chloride-bicarbonate exchanger, for example, is uniquely suited to the specialized role of red cells in respiration and blood buffering.² Other, more generally distributed transport systems in red cells, such as the pumps for sodium-potassium and calcium, are vital components of almost all animal cells. Finally, red cells are capable of a host of transport activities of unknown physiologic importance: sodium-sodium exchange, lithium-sodium exchange, and sodium-potassium . . .