The suppression of cellular ATP synthesis is another
primary negative effect of F on the rat erythrocytes (Table 2).
Earlier, a decrease in ATP content was reported in erythrocytes
of the people living in the regions polluted with F compounds
[38]. More pronounced (70–90 %) ATP depletion was revealed
under in vitro conditions in human [39] and rat [16] erythrocytes,
oralmucosal fibroblasts [40], andmacrophages [41]. F is
a well-acknowledged inhibitor of glycolytic enzyme enolase.
Since in mammalian erythrocytes the production of ATP
completely depends on glycolysis, its inhibition leads to suppression
of all ATP-consuming processes including efflux of
Ca2+ through Ca2+ pump, what partly explains an accumulation
of free cytosolic Ca2+. A correlation between inhibition of
glycolysis, decreased ATP content and apoptosis is well
established [16, 41, 42]. Besides, ATP is necessary to maintain
the normal biconcave shape of erythrocytes [43], the decreased
ATP content might be one of the causes of erythrocytes transformation
from discocytes to crenated forms.