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Human Red Blood Cell Shape and Volume are Changed by Physiological Levels of Hydrostatic Pressure

1996; De Gruyter; Volume: 7; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1515/jbcpp.1996.7.4.321

2191-0286

Gregory Barshtein, L. D. Bergel'son, Enrico Gratton, Saul Yedgar,

Hemoglobin structure and function

Application of hydrostatic pressure of several atmospheres (atm), such as that applied in diving or hyperbaric treatment, has been previously shown to induce the release of membrane components into the extracellular medium. As the shape of red blood cells (RBC) is sensitive to membrane composition, this might imply a subsequent change in RBC shape and volume. The present study demonstrates that application of hydrostatic pressure of up to 15 atm changes the shape of RBC from the normal discoids to stomatocytes (cup-shaped) and accordingly increases their volume. Changes in RBC shape and volume are known to impair physiological and cellular function. Thus, these changes might be pertinent to hemodynamic and physiological disorders observed in humans subjected to elevated pressure.