Quantifying the unique mechanical properties of irreversibly sickled cells in sickle cell disease
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We developed a platform to measure the oxygen-dependent mechanical properties and oxygen saturation of individual irreversibly sickled cells (ISCs). We identified and measured ISCs from a cohort of 10 individuals with sickle cell disease. ISCs were found to have an average shear surface modulus 20 times that of nonsickled cells and a sixth that of red blood cells (RBCs) with detectable hemoglobin polymer. We found that the number of ISCs was significantly reduced at 53 mm Hg oxygen compared with ≥91 mm Hg oxygen, suggesting that these RBCs can still form polymer under hypoxia. We also found that the fraction of ISCs present in a blood sample had a negative correlation with donor fetal hemoglobin (HbF) fraction, suggesting that HbF could play a role in mitigating occurrence of ISCs.
Institutions: University of Minnesota, Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
Awards: G3072763391, NNCI: Midwest Nano Infrastructure Corrider (MINIC), Single-cell measurement of cyclic stress on sickle blood cells by imaging-microfluidics, G7309858493, Development of platform technology to measure kinetics and equilibrium concentration of sickle hemoglobin polymerization in single RBCs for drug potency assessment and patient risk stratification, Modeling oxygen-dependent hemoglobin polymerization in sickle cell disease at the single cell level
OpenAlex ID: W4410739571