Force relaxation and permanent deformation of erythrocyte membrane

Actin protofilament orientation in deformation of the erythrocyte membrane skeleton.

The red cell's spectrin-actin network is known to sustain local states of shear, dilation, and condensation, and yet the short actin filaments are found to maintain membrane-tangent and near-random azimuthal orientations. When calibrated with polarization results for single actin filaments, imaging of micropipette-deformed red cell ghosts has allowed an assessment of actin orientations and poss...

Relaxation of Loaded ESCRT-III Spiral Springs Drives Membrane Deformation

ESCRT-III is required for lipid membrane remodeling in many cellular processes, from abscission to viral budding and multi-vesicular body biogenesis. However, how ESCRT-III polymerization generates membrane curvature remains debated. Here, we show that Snf7, the main component of ESCRT-III, polymerizes into spirals at the surface of lipid bilayers. When covering the entire membrane surface, the...

Erythrocyte deformation in shear flow: influences of internal viscosity, membrane stiffness, and hematocrit.

The effect of shear force (depending on shear rate and viscosity of extracellular medium) and hematocrit of RBC suspension on RBC deformation was studied quantitatively using a cone-plate rheoscope with various kinds of cells, ie, partially hemolyzed (PH) cells, density-fractionated intact cells, and diamide-treated cells. The deformation index (DI) of ellipsoidally deformed cells was shown to ...

Erythrocyte deformation under shear flow.

Dependence of the permanent deformation of red blood cell membranes on spectrin dimer-tetramer equilibrium: implication for permanent membrane deformation of irreversibly sickled cells.

Red blood cells (RBCs) in sickle cell anemia, transformed into a sickled shape by prolonged deoxygenation, or normal RBCs deformed by a prolonged micropipette aspiration become permanently stabilized in their abnormal shape. This semisolid plastic behavior is thought to involve an irreversible reorganization of the membrane skeleton, but the exact nature of this skeletal rearrangement is not kn...