We have applied wide-field digital interferometry (WFDI) to examine the morphology and dynamics of live red blood cells (RBCs) from individuals who suffer from sickle cell anemia (SCA), a genetic disorder that affects the structure and mechanical properties of RBCs. WFDI is a noncontact, label-free optical microscopy approach that can yield quantitative thickness profiles of RBCs and measuremen...

The structure of the nucleated erythrocyte of frog and chicken has been investigated by electron microscopy and correlated with the distribution of haemoglobin and DNA-containing material determined by haem absorption and Feulgen staining in the light microscope. The nuclei of both species are found to contain haemoglobin which is continuous with the haemoglobin in the cytoplasm through holes o...

Introduction: The Dutch naturalist Jan Swammerdam was the first individual to microscopically observe red blood cells (RBCs) or erythrocytes in the year 1658. Credit for the discovery of RBCs, however, often goes to Anton van Leeuwenhoek, another Dutch scientist who made the first recorded illustration of RBCs in 1695, writing, “I have observed, taking some blood out of my hand, that it consist...

Various concentrations of pig, guinea pig, chicken, and turkey erythrocytes (RBCs) were cryopreserved and compared with fresh RBCs in hemagglutination and hemagglutination inhibition tests. Hemagglutination and hemagglutination inhibition titers obtained with cryopreserved or fresh RBCs from the same donor differed by not more than one twofold dilution. RBCs cryopreserved at a concentration of ...

KCl cotransport (KCC) activation by cell swelling and pH was compared in sickle (SS) and normal (AA) red blood cells (RBCs). KCC fluxes had the same relationship to mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in SS and AA RBCs when normalized to the maximal volume-stimulated (VS(max)) flux (MCHC < 270 g/L [27 g/dL]). Acid-stimulated (pH 6.9) KCC flux in SS RBCs was 60% to 70% of VS(max) KC...

Previously, we reported that red blood cells (RBCs) of rabbits and humans release ATP in response to mechanical deformation and that this release of ATP requires the activity of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). It was reported that cAMP, acting through a cAMP-dependent protein kinase, PKA, is an activator of CFTR. Here we investigate the hypothesis that cAMP stimu...

Rubisco gene expression was examined in detail in rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaves at different positions, i.e. expanding, mature, and senescent leaves. Rubisco small subunit (RBCS) synthesis and RBCS mRNA levels were maximal in expanding leaves and gradually became lower in mature and senescent leaves, with declines in those of the large subunit (RBCL) being relatively slower. The amount of synth...

During storage in blood banks, red blood cells (RBCs) undergo the mechanical and metabolic damage, which may lead to the diminished capacity to deliver oxygen. At high altitude regions, the above-mentioned damage may get worse. Thus, more attention should be paid to preserve RBCs when these components need transfer from plain to plateau regions. Recently, we found that mesenchymal stromal cells...

BACKGROUND Since red blood cells (RBCs) are the predominant cellular blood component interacting with the arterial wall, we explored the role of RBCs efferocytosis by vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs) in the initiation of human atheroma. METHODS AND RESULTS The comparison of human healthy aortas with aortic fatty streaks or fibroatheromas revealed that RBC angiophagy is implicated from the...