Decrease in Erythrocyte Deformability Promotes the Cell Accumulation near the Vessel Wall in Small Arterioles

• Published in: The FASEB journal 2016-04, Vol.30 (S1)
• Main Authors: NAMGUNG, BUMSEOK, JU, MEONGKEUN, NG, YAN CHENG, KIM, SANGHO
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0892-6638; 1530-6860
• DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.lb771

Abstract only This study demonstrated that the deformability‐impaired red blood cells (RBCs) preferentially accumulate near the vessel walls in arterioles in vivo. Chemically hardened RBCs ( h RBCs) with fluorescent labeling from the donor rat were infused into the recipient rat circulatory system while maintaining the total blood volume. Fluorescent imaging analysis was performed to quantify the radial ( R ) distribution of the labeled h RBCs in small arterioles (~76 μm of diameter). In vivo experimental results showed that majority of the h RBCs (65%) were accumulated near the vessel wall (0.7 R –0.9 R ). This near‐wall accumulation of h RBCs partly contributed to the decrease in the mean cell‐free layer width, and significantly increased the variation of cell‐free layer width ( P < 0.05). Dynamic particle simulation by modeling individual RBCs was in agreement with the in vivo experiments by predicting that the h RBCs exhibit relatively weakened tank‐treading motion as compared with normal RBCs. Consequently, this leads to an attenuation in the inward migration of the cells toward the flow center. Our findings conclusively proposed that the preferential near‐wall accumulation of h RBCs in vivo could be attributed by the attenuated dispersion of h RBCs with reduced tank‐treading motion once they entered into the near‐wall zone. In addition, frequent sudden changes of lateral displacement of h RBCs while passing through multiple bifurcations partly contributed to their near‐wall accumulation despite the relatively shorter cell travel distance in vivo. Support or Funding Information This work was supported by National Medical Research Council (NMRC)/Cooperative Basic Research Grant (CBRG) No./0078/2014