Novel assay reveals new mechanism of red blood cell aging
The red blood cells, which carry oxygen to all parts of the body, are the most common type of blood cell. They are repeatedly exposed to different levels of oxygen tension in blood circulation. Hypoxia is a condition of low oxygen tension that occurs frequently in the microenvironment. It can be a factor for various pathological conditions such as cancers, chronic inflammations, heart attacks, and strokes. The interplay of poor cellular deformability with impaired oxygen delivery can also be found in many pathological conditions, such as sickle-cell disease. During the sickling process, red blood cells undergo a dramatic mechanical deformation.
Although the interactions between hypoxia, cell biomechanics, and the biochemical mechanisms that cause accelerated damage to diseased red cells are well-understood, the exact biomechanical effects of hypoxia on red blood cell degradation and aging remains elusive.
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) sought to determine the role of the hypoxia on the aging of red blood cells via biomechanical pathways. They examined the hypoxia-induced impairment in red blood cell deformability on a single cell basis, compared non-cyclic and cyclic levels of hypoxia, and documented the cumulative effects versus hypoxia cycles. The deformability of red blood cells is an important biomarker for its functionality.
Source:
https://phys.org/news/2021-09-assay-mechanism-underlying-red-blood.html
