Influence of Non-Specific Surface Adhesion on the Shape and Microrheology of Red Blood Cells
Abstract
Poly-L-Lysine (PLL) mediates the non-specific adhesion of cells and is commonly used in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) measurements, to ensure that cells remain attached to the substrate. However, it is acknowledged that adhesion affects the measured mechanical properties, in particular in the case Red Blood Cells (RBCs). This results in a wide range of Young’s modulus E reported in the literature. The present study aims at providing a systematic approach to the impact of non-specific adhesion on the rheology of RBCs. It provides a correlation between the topography profile of adherent RBCs and their rheology, from weak (cPLL = 10−3 mg/mL) to strong-adhesion (cPLL = 100 mg/mL) regimes. Using RICM and AFM, we find that there is a continuum of RBC shapes promoted by adhesion, from concave to dome-shaped, as predicted by the theory of vesicle adhesion. Their elastic properties discriminate them into two populations depending on adhesion strength, where stiffer RBCs (E ≳ 100 Pa) correlate with dome-shaped cells. These findings are supported by rheology measurements of the dynamic complex shear modulus G∗(f): while the storage modulus increases with cell-substrate adhesion, reflective of an increased membrane shear modulus, the loss modulus remains unchanged. Finally, further analysis inspired by membrane theory shows that different deformation modes may be triggered during indentation of either weakly or strongly adhering RBCs, illustrating the limits of the Hertz model.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Diagnosis and management of glutaric aciduria type I – revised recommendations
- EZH2 Codon 641 Mutations are Common in BCL2-Rearranged Germinal Center B Cell Lymphomas
- Consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pyridoxine‐dependent epilepsy due to α‐aminoadipic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency
- Systemic Metabolomic Changes in Blood Samples of Lung Cancer Patients Identified by Gas Chromatography Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
- Human OTULIN haploinsufficiency impairs cell-intrinsic immunity to staphylococcal α-toxin
- Discovery of Novel Recurrent Mutations in Childhood Early T-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia by Whole Genome Sequencing - a Report From the St Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.