Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Theresienstraße 41, 80333 Munich, Germany.
J R Soc Interface. 2012 Oct 7;9(75):2581-90. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2012.0174. Epub 2012 May 2.
Changes in elasticity and structures of red blood cells (RBCs) are important indicators of disease, and this makes them interesting for medical studies. In forensics, blood analyses represent a crucial part of crime scene investigations. For these reasons, the recovery and analysis of blood cells from ancient tissues is of major interest. In this study, we show that RBCs were preserved in Iceman tissue samples for more than 5000 years. The morphological and molecular composition of the blood corpuscle is verified by atomic force microscope and Raman spectroscopy measurements. The cell size and shape approximated those of healthy, dried, recent RBCs. Raman spectra of the ancient corpuscle revealed bands that are characteristic of haemoglobin. Additional vibrational modes typical for other proteinaceous fragments, possibly fibrin, suggested the formation of a blood clot. The band intensities, however, were approximately an order of magnitude weaker than those of recent RBCs. This fact points to a decrease in the RBC-specific metalloprotein haemoglobin and, thus, to a degradation of the cells. Together, the results show the preservation of RBCs in the 5000 year old mummy tissue and give the first insights into their degradation.
红细胞（RBC）弹性和结构的变化是疾病的重要指标，这使得它们成为医学研究的有趣对象。在法医学中，血液分析是犯罪现场调查的重要组成部分。出于这些原因，从古代组织中回收和分析血细胞具有重要意义。在这项研究中，我们表明 RBC 在冰人组织样本中保存了 5000 多年。通过原子力显微镜和拉曼光谱测量验证了血红细胞的形态和分子组成。细胞大小和形状与健康、干燥、近期的 RBC 相似。古老血细胞的拉曼光谱显示出特征血红蛋白的带。其他可能是纤维蛋白的典型蛋白质片段的振动模式表明形成了血凝块。然而，带的强度大约比近期 RBC 的强度弱一个数量级。这一事实表明 RBC 特有的金属蛋白血红蛋白减少，因此细胞降解。总之，这些结果表明 RBC 在 5000 年前的木乃伊组织中得到了保存，并首次深入了解了它们的降解情况。
