A Direct Quantitative Analysis of Erythrocyte Intracellular Ionized Magnesium in Physiological and Pathological Conditions.

Magnesium (Mg) is an endogenous cation that is involved in many essential biological reactions. Abnormal Mg metabolisms in the body affect important physiological and pathological processes. However, most endogenous Mg markers fail to represent body Mg status; they are disadvantageous in terms of representational capacity, applied range, operational convenience, etc. In this article, we evaluated some of the most popular Mg marker candidates. A logical model of the blood Mg compartments was established, which consisted of unstable Mg pools, representative Mg pools, and conserved Mg pools. These pools were based on the metabolic efficiency of Mg in an acute Mg intake test. The results of this study showed that only the erythrocyte intracellular ionized Mg (RBC [Mg]), a representative Mg pool, could effectively represent abnormal body Mg metabolisms in various conditions, including dietary Mg adjustments, aging and metabolic syndrome. These results suggest that RBC [Mg] might be a widely applicable marker of body Mg levels. On unified technology platform and evaluation system, this research compared the representative capacities of RBC [Mg], plasma Mg concentration (plasma [Mg]), erythrocyte intracellular total Mg (RBC [Mg]) and Mg retention in rats and mice under various Mg-metabolism-related physiological and pathological conditions. Our technique for the direct quantitative analysis of RBC [Mg] may prove valuable for basic physiological research, dietary Mg regulation, as well as clinical monitoring/intervention of Mg-metabolism-related pathology.