RBC aggregation: Laboratory data and models


Meiselman H. J., Neu B., Rampling M. W., Baskurt O. K.

INDIAN JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY, vol.45, no.1, pp.9-17, 2007 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 45 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2007
  • Journal Name: INDIAN JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.9-17
  • Keywords: aggregation, RBC, BLOOD-CELL AGGREGATION, TYPE-2 DIABETES-MELLITUS, ERYTHROCYTE AGGREGATION, ELECTROPHORETIC MOBILITY, POLYMER-SOLUTIONS, WHITE CELLS, RED, RAT, BEHAVIOR, DEPLETION
  • Akdeniz University Affiliated: No

Abstract

The reversible aggregation of red blood cells (RBC) into linear and three-dimensional structures continues to be of basic science and clinical interest: RBC aggregation affects low shear blood viscosity and microvascular flow dynamics, and can be markedly enhanced in several clinical states. Until fairly recently, most research efforts were focused on relations between suspending medium composition (i.e., protein levels, polymer type and concentration) and aggregate formation. However, there is now an increasing amount of experimental evidence indicating that RBC cellular properties can markedly affect aggregation, with the term "RBC aggregability" coined to describe the cell's intrinsic tendency to aggregate. Variations of aggregability can be large, with. some changes of aggregation substantially greater than those resulting from pathologic states. The present review provides a brief overview of this topic, and includes such areas as donor-to-donor variations, polymer-plasma correlations, effects of RBC age, effects of enzymatic treatment, and current developments related to the mechanisms involved in RBC aggregation.