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Characterization of Erythrocytes in the Sickle Cell Trait

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

Jamie L. Maciaszek
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, U.S.A.
George Lykotrafitis
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) allows for high-resolution topography studies of biological cells, measurement of their mechanical properties, and quantification of protein-protein interactions in physiological conditions. In this work, AFM was employed to investigate morphological, material, and chemomechanical properties of red blood cells from human subjects with sickle cell trait. We measured the stiffness of the cells and demonstrated that the Young’s modulus of pathological erythrocytes was three times greater than in normal cells. A single molecule AFM method was employed to report that erythrocytes from human subjects with the sickle cell trait express a greater number of the laminin receptors BCAM/Lu (p < 0.05) than erythrocytes from normal human subjects. Observed differences indicate the effect of sickle hemoglobin in the erythrocyte and possible changes in the organization of the cell cytoskeleton and membrane proteins associated with the sickle cell trait.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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References

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