TY - JOUR
T1 - Biomechanical properties of native and cultured red blood cells–Interplay of shape, structure and biomechanics
AU - Bernecker, Claudia
AU - Lima, Maria
AU - Kolesnik, Tatjana
AU - Lampl, Annika
AU - Ciubotaru, Catalin
AU - Leita, Riccardo
AU - Kolb, Dagmar
AU - Fröhlich, Eleonore
AU - Schlenke, Peter
AU - Holzapfel, Gerhard A.
AU - Dorn, Isabel
AU - Cojoc, Dan
N1 - Funding Information:
This research project was funded by the “Österreichische Nationalbank”, grant number #17932 and in part by the EU-H2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 654360 and also benefitted from access provided by CNR-IOM under the framework of the NFFA Europe Transnational Access Activity (#ID896).
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Bernecker, Lima, Kolesnik, Lampl, Ciubotaru, Leita, Kolb, Fröhlich, Schlenke, Holzapfel, Dorn and Cojoc.
PY - 2022/8/16
Y1 - 2022/8/16
N2 - Modern medicine increases the demand for safe blood products. Ex vivo cultured red blood cells (cRBC) are eagerly awaited as a standardized, safe source of RBC. Established culture models still lack the terminal cytoskeletal remodeling from reticulocyte to erythrocyte with changes in the biomechanical properties and interacts with membrane stiffness, viscosity of the cytoplasm and the cytoskeletal network. Comprehensive data on the biomechanical properties of cRBC are needed to take the last step towards translation into clinical use in transfusion medicine. Aim of the study was the comparative analysis of topographical and biomechanical properties of cRBC, generated from human CD34+ adult hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, with native reticulocytes (nRET) and erythrocytes (nRBC) using cell biological and biomechanical technologies. To gain the desired all-encompassing information, a single method was unsatisfactory and only the combination of different methods could lead to the goal. Topographical information was matched with biomechanical data from optical tweezers (OT), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and digital holographic microscopy (DHM). Underlying structures were investigated in detail. Imaging, deformability and recovery time showed a high similarity between cRBC and nRBC. Young’s modulus and plasticity index also confirmed this similarity. No significant differences in membrane and cytoskeletal proteins were found, while lipid deficiency resulted in spherical, vesiculated cells with impaired biomechanical functionality. The combination of techniques has proven successful and experiments underscore a close relationship between lipid content, shape and biomechanical functionality of RBC.
AB - Modern medicine increases the demand for safe blood products. Ex vivo cultured red blood cells (cRBC) are eagerly awaited as a standardized, safe source of RBC. Established culture models still lack the terminal cytoskeletal remodeling from reticulocyte to erythrocyte with changes in the biomechanical properties and interacts with membrane stiffness, viscosity of the cytoplasm and the cytoskeletal network. Comprehensive data on the biomechanical properties of cRBC are needed to take the last step towards translation into clinical use in transfusion medicine. Aim of the study was the comparative analysis of topographical and biomechanical properties of cRBC, generated from human CD34+ adult hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, with native reticulocytes (nRET) and erythrocytes (nRBC) using cell biological and biomechanical technologies. To gain the desired all-encompassing information, a single method was unsatisfactory and only the combination of different methods could lead to the goal. Topographical information was matched with biomechanical data from optical tweezers (OT), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and digital holographic microscopy (DHM). Underlying structures were investigated in detail. Imaging, deformability and recovery time showed a high similarity between cRBC and nRBC. Young’s modulus and plasticity index also confirmed this similarity. No significant differences in membrane and cytoskeletal proteins were found, while lipid deficiency resulted in spherical, vesiculated cells with impaired biomechanical functionality. The combination of techniques has proven successful and experiments underscore a close relationship between lipid content, shape and biomechanical functionality of RBC.
KW - atomic force microscopy
KW - biomechanical properties
KW - digital holographic microscopy
KW - ex vivo erythropoiesis
KW - optical tweezers
KW - red blood cells
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138008807&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fphys.2022.979298
DO - 10.3389/fphys.2022.979298
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85138008807
SN - 1664-042X
VL - 13
JO - Frontiers in Physiology
JF - Frontiers in Physiology
M1 - 979298
ER -