INFLUENCE OF RED-CELL WATER-CONTENT ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF SICKLING

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 55  (5) , 823-830
Abstract
The response of [human] sickle cells with varying water content to alterations in O2 tension was studied. Cells that were severely dehydrated while sickled retained the characteristic sickled morphology even after prolonged reoxygenation. When cell water content was increased by reduction of the suspending medium osmolality, the cells unsickled. Cells dehydrated before deoxygenation were unable to assume the spiculated morphology typical of sickled cells. This was true for high mean cell Hb concentration (MCHC) discoid sickle cells and for irreversibly sickled cells. When such cells were resuspended in hypotonic medium before deoxygenation, they sickled with the characteristic morphology of sickle cells with normal MCHC. The morphological behavior of Ca-loaded sickled cells as well as irreversibly sickled cells showed a major influence of increased Hb concentration and extremely high internal viscosity. Constraint on cell morphology by putative membrane rigidity was not observed.