Abstract
Iron deficiency is a systemic disorder, which affects a variety of
different cell types and is one of the most frequent diseases throughout
the world. The influence of iron deficiency upon erythrocyte
deformability is controversial and could be a consequence of membrane
peroxidation damage or cross linking of membrane proteins. The aim of
this study was to determine the overall elasticity (the deformability of
the entire cell is evaluated) of iron deficient red blood cells (RBC)
using laser optical tweezers. In this study, the laser trapped the cell
and the elasticity was then analyzed measuring cell deformation at six
different drag velocities. Twenty-five RBCs from 11 healthy blood donors
(controls) and 7 patients with iron deficiency anemia were analyzed.
Iron deficiency subjects were classified into 3 groups based on Hb concentration for statistical analysis (group I: Hb = 7.0-7.9; group II:
8.0-10.2 and group III: 7.0-10.2 g/dl). The results showed an increased
rigidity in the iron deficiency of deficient red blood cells when
compared to normal control blood cells, and, this impaired deformability
seems to be correlated to the hemoglobin concentration. In conclusion,
the results obtained by optical tweezers showed that iron deficiency
affects the elasticity of whole RBC.
Users
Please
log in to take part in the discussion (add own reviews or comments).