Discover a new detection method for red blood cell aging

The interaction between hypoxia and cell biomechanics and the underlying biochemical mechanisms of diseased red blood cell damage are well understood.

Researchers from the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to try to determine the effect of hypoxia on red blood cell aging through a biomechanical approach

In the latest research, researchers have developed a multi-faceted microfluidic in vitro measurement to precisely control the gas environment and detect the mechanical properties of red blood cells, which can be used as a description tool for other cells to participate in oxygen-dependent biological processes

The results of the study indicate an important biophysical mechanism of red blood cell aging, in which circulating hypoxia alone can lead to mechanical degradation of red blood cell membranes

"A unique feature of our system is that it can measure the cell deformability of multiple and single tracked red blood cells under a well-controlled oxygen tension environment

Microfluidics is a miniature, high-efficiency gas diffusion platform that connects gas and aqueous solutions through a flow or gas permeable membrane, and can also control the gas microenvironment within the cell

In this study, the researchers placed red blood cells in a well-controlled microenvironment of repeated hypoxia while allowing simultaneous characterization of the mechanical properties of the cells

The measurement of biomarkers, such as oxidative damage, can provide additional information to establish a quantitative relationship between fatigue load and biological processes to better understand red blood cell failure and aging

"The unique method developed by Professor Du's laboratory can also be a useful tool for predicting the mechanical properties of natural and artificial red blood cells for blood transfusion, and evaluating the efficacy of related reagents in extending cell life

Journal Reference :

1. Yuhao Qiang, Jia Liu, Ming Dao, E.