Institute for the Structure of Matter (ISM-CNR), Rome, Italy.
Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.
J Mol Recognit. 2018 Nov;31(11):e2732. doi: 10.1002/jmr.2732. Epub 2018 Jun 6.
Erythrocytes (RBCs) constitute a very interesting class of cells both for their physiological function and for a variety of peculiarities. Due to their exceptionally strong relationship with the environment, the morphology and nanoscale characteristics of these cells can reveal their biochemical status and structural integrity. Among the possible subjects of investigations, the RBCs' ageing is of the utmost importance. This is a fundamental phenomenon that, in physiological conditions, triggers the cell turnover and ensures the blood homeostasis. With these premises, in recent years, we have presented an atomic force microscopy-based methodology to characterize the patterns of RBC ageing from the morphological point of view. In the present work, we used an ageing protocol more similar to the physiological conditions and we used differential scanning calorimetry and atomic force microscopy to probe the cross correlation between important structural and functional proteins. We also assessed the role played by fundamental structural and membrane proteins in the development of the most relevant morphological intermediates observed along the ageing. Furthermore, we coupled the morphological ageing patterns to the (bio)chemical alterations detected by Raman spectroscopy. This allowed identifying the chronology of the ageing morphologies and the metabolic pathways most involved in their development. As a whole, the present study provides the base to correlate specific molecular alterations to the development of structural anomalies, and these latter to the functional status of blood cells.
红细胞（RBCs）因其生理功能和各种特性而成为一类非常有趣的细胞。由于它们与环境有着非常特殊的关系，这些细胞的形态和纳米尺度特征可以揭示它们的生化状态和结构完整性。在可能的研究课题中，红细胞的衰老最为重要。这是一种基本现象，它在生理条件下触发细胞更替，确保血液的体内平衡。基于这些前提，近年来，我们提出了一种基于原子力显微镜的方法，从形态学角度来描述红细胞衰老的模式。在本工作中，我们使用了一种更类似于生理条件的衰老方案，并使用差示扫描量热法和原子力显微镜来探测重要结构和功能蛋白之间的交叉相关性。我们还评估了基本结构和膜蛋白在观察到的衰老过程中最重要的形态中间产物发展中的作用。此外，我们将形态衰老模式与拉曼光谱检测到的（生物）化学变化相关联。这使得能够确定衰老形态的时间顺序以及参与其发展的代谢途径。总的来说，本研究为将特定的分子变化与结构异常的发展以及后者与血细胞的功能状态相关联提供了基础。
