Eryptosis is induced by hyperthermia in hereditary spherocytosis red blood cell

CRISP, R; VOTA, D; DONATO, H; GARCÍA, E; RAPETTI, MC; MALTANERI, R; VITTORI, D; NESSE, A

CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND LABORATORY MEDICINE

WALTER DE GRUYTER & CO

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2016

1434-6621

Background: In patients with hereditary spherocytosis (HS) the development of hemolytic crisis is recurrent during febrile infectious episodes. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether the effect of temperature increment could affect HS erythrocyte survival. Methods: Erythrocytes from HS patients and healthy donors were studied at 36.5 ºC and 38.5 ºC, mimicking the physiologic body temperature and a febrile state, respectively. Flow cytometry was used to analyze signs of eryptosis, such as cell shrinkage (forward scatter) and phosphatidylserine translocation. Intracellular calcium content, reactive oxygen species and reduced glutathione levels were determined by flow cytometry. Results: In in vitro assays, high temperature induced eryptosis in samples from HS patients. No changes in the cellular oxidative status were observed due to temperature variation while increased intracellular calcium was detected in HS erythrocytes after incubation at 38.5 °C. Experiments at this temperature carried out in calcium-free media showed significantly decreased eryptosis. Conclusions: Our results show that high incubation temperature induces eryptosis of HS erythrocytes, which resulted more sensitive to temperature changes than controls. An increase in intracellular calcium seems to be an important factor responsible for the eryptosis induced by high temperature and could explain the worsening of anemia during hyperthermia in HS patients.