Surface charge of red blood cells in insulin-dependent diabetic patients with incipient and overt nephropathy

The negative surface charge of red blood cells was studied in adults with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, using a chemical assay based on the binding of the cationic dye Alcian-blue 8GX to anionic sites on the cell surface. Twenty-one healthy non-diabetic adults, 21 normo-albuminuric diabetic patients, 25 diabetic patients with incipient nephropathy, and 19 diabetic patients with overt nephropathy were studied. The diabetic patients were matched for age, duration of diabetes, and glycaemic control. The red cell surface charge was nearly identical in the four groups studied. Our study does not suggest that loss of membrane negative charge is a generalized phenomenon in insulin-dependent diabetic patients with albuminuria.