Red Blood Cell Stiffness and Adhesion Are Species-Specific Properties Strongly Affected by Temperature and Medium Changes in Single Cell Force Spectroscopy |
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Authors: | Dina Baier Torsten Müller Thomas Mohr Ursula Windberger |
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Institution: | 1.Decentralized Biomedical Facilities, Center for Biomedical Research, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria;2.Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria;3.Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria;4.JPK BioAFM, Bruker Nano GmbH, 12489 Berlin, Germany;5.ScienceConsult–DI Thomas Mohr KG, 2353 Guntramsdorf, Austria |
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Abstract: | Besides human red blood cells (RBC), a standard model used in AFM-single cell force spectroscopy (SCFS), little is known about apparent Young’s modulus (Ea) or adhesion of animal RBCs displaying distinct cellular features. To close this knowledge gap, we probed chicken, horse, camel, and human fetal RBCs and compared data with human adults serving as a repository for future studies. Additionally, we assessed how measurements are affected under physiological conditions (species-specific temperature in autologous plasma vs. 25 °C in aqueous NaCl solution). In all RBC types, Ea decreased with increasing temperature irrespective of the suspension medium. In mammalian RBCs, adhesion increased with elevated temperatures and scaled with reported membrane sialic acid concentrations. In chicken only adhesion decreased with higher temperature, which we attribute to the lower AE-1 concentration allowing more membrane undulations. Ea decreased further in plasma at every test temperature, and adhesion was completely abolished, pointing to functional cell enlargement by adsorption of plasma components. This halo elevated RBC size by several hundreds of nanometers, blunted the thermal input, and will affect the coupling of RBCs with the flowing plasma. The study evidences the presence of a RBC surface layer and discusses the tremendous effects when RBCs are probed at physiological conditions. |
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Keywords: | atomic force microscopy Young’ s modulus red blood cell adhesion deformability animal species comparative |
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