RED BLOOD CELL SENESCENCE IN CHAGAS DISEASE

ROCÍO STAMPONE; ANTONELLA PACINI; ALEJANDRA ENSINCK; BRENDA DINATALE; ANA ROSA PÉREZ; CARLOS COTORRUELO; SILVINA VILLAR

Mar del Plata

Simposio; REUNIÓN CONJUNTA SAIC SAI&FAIC SAFIS 2022; 2022

Red blood cells (RBC) have a life expectancy of 120 days; however, there is evidence supporting that chronic inflammatory processes can alter RBC lifespan. Chagas disease (CD) is an infectious and inflammatory condition with the possibility of modifying the half-life of RBC. This study aims to identify possible aging mechanisms of RBC in patients with CD. For this, the relationship between RBC aging and membrane marker changes which lead to the clearance of senescent erythrocytes was investigated. Our study was designed to evaluate young RBC (YRBC) and senescent RBC (SRBC) in individuals without Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy (Indeterminate form IND, n=4) and with Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy (CCC, n=4). Healthy volunteers were matched according to sex and age (Co, n=5). Flow cytometry has been applied for detection of RBC bound Immunoglobulin G (IgG), CD47 and Annexin V. RBC were gated on the basis of their forward and side scatter characteristics (YRBC: FSC high; SRBC: FSC low). The percentage of YRBC decreased in both IND and CCC vs Co. Also, the percentage of SRBC increased in both IND and CCC vs Co (*p