Mechanisms of red cell clearance in favism.

Divicine (2,6-diamino-4,5-dihydroxypyrimidine) is a quinoid compound contained in high amounts in all fava bean strains. It elicits a number of metabolic and rheological modifications in G6PD-deficient RBC. Besides this, it stimulates erythrophagocytosis by mouse peritoneal macrophages and formation of crossbonded red cells. The latter are intracellularly membrane-bonded red cells, which form during hypertonic incubation and subsequent swelling. All effects observed in vitro were also observed in vivo in the early phases of fabic hemolysis. In particular, phagocytosis and crossbonding offer a basis for understanding extravasal hemolysis.