RED BLOOD CELL SENESCENCE IN INFLAMMATORY CHRONIC DISEASES

ROCIOS STAMPONE; ANTONELLA PACINI; ALEJANDRA ENSINCK; FEDERICO TANNO; BRENDA DINATALE; ANA ROSA PEREZ; SILVINA R VILLAR

Mar del Plata

Congreso; Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica; 2024

Chronic inflammatory diseases, regardless of their nature, could impact various physiological processes, including the senescence of blood cells. While it is known that the average lifespan of red blood cells (RBCs) is 120 days, there is evidence to support that chronic inflammatory processes could accelerate the erythrocyte aging. Thus, it is possible that RBCs may have a shorter half-life in pathologies like Chagas disease (CD) and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). This study aims to identify changes in aging markers of RBCs, such as an increase in autologous IgG antibodies on the RBCs membrane that bind to band 3, stimulating C3b deposition and erythrophagocytosis, and a decrease in the expression of CD47, a transmembrane protein which acts as a “don’t eat me” signal. In both cases, the removal of RBCs by macrophages is promoted. For this, we recruited individuals infected with Trypanosoma Cruzi who developed Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy (CCC, n=7) and those without cardiac pathology (Indeterminate form (IND), n=18), as well as patients with AIH (n=10). Healthy volunteers were matched according to sex and age (Co, n=10). Flow cytometry has been applied for detection of CD47 and RBCs-bound IgG. CD47 expression was lower in both AIH, IND vs. Co, as indicated by the Median Fluorescence Intensity values (*p