| Regional Biophysics Meeting 2005, March 16-20, Zreče, Slovenia | [CellBiophys] |
Understanding the mechanisms of the erythrocyte adhesion to other cells or to vascular epithelium is of great clinical importance. Here we present experiments and the corresponding theoretical modeling aimed to analyze the adhesion of single erythrocytes under physiological adhesion strengths in vitro. Specifically, the experimental setup allows for monitoring the changes in the shape of a single erythrocyte adhered to another erythrocyte or a microbead, as its surrounding solution is controllably exchanged. The recording of the erythrocyte shape is performed by a CCD camera attached to an inverted microscope, and the exchange of the solution surrounding the adhered erythrocyte is done by using the system of push - pull syringe pumps. The relation between the erythrocyte shape changes and the adhesion strength is analyzed by applying the theoretical model based on the area difference elasticity model of lipid membranes, where the equilibrium shapes of the adhered erythrocyte are numerically calculated from a set of differential equations defined by the minimum of the membrane elastic energy and the adhesion energy. In this way it is possible to systematically analyze the dependence of the erythrocyte adhesion on the composition of the surrounding solution.
Email: jure.derganc@biofiz.mf.uni-lj.si
Address: Institute of Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Lipiceva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia,