Red Blood CellMembrane Dynamics Explored by Confocal Microscopy

MARTÍN DODES TRAIAN; VALERIA LEVI; FRANCISCO LUIS GONZÁLEZ FLECHA

Congreso; XLI Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Biofísica; 2012

Sociedad Argentina de Biofísica

Our knowledge of the organization and function of biological membranes has changed from the original model of Singer and Nicholson. It is now well accepted that membrane components are not randomly organized but they assemble forming domains of different compositions, sizes and dynamics which are essential for the functionality of the membrane (1). It was reported that the reaction of glucose with biological molecules (non-enzymatic glycosylation) affects the physicochemical, and occasionally also the biological properties of the target molecules (2). Several studies have demonstrated that proteins and amino- phospholipids react in vivo with glucose (3) generating Amadori products and advanced glycation endproducts, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes and normal aging (4). Using confocal microscopy and the fluorescent probe C-Laurdan (5), we explored membrane microfluidity in human red blood cells (RBC). The incubation media were carefully designed for long term incubations of RBC exposed to either physiological or high concentrations of glucose at 37 C and pH 7.4. It is known that in these conditions glucose can react with the amino groups of lysine residues in proteins and amino-phospholipids generating Amadori products. The result is the decrease in the activity of some membrane enzymes and the weakening of lipid protein interactions (6). The aim of this project is to gain insight into the effects of glycation on biological membranes in cells.