Abstract
An improved red blood cell (RBC) membrane model is developed based on the bilayer coupling model (BCM) to accurately predict the complete sequence of stomatocyte-discocyte-echinocyte (SDE) transformation of a RBC. The coarse-grained (CG)–RBC membrane model is proposed to predict the minimum energy configuration of the RBC from the competition between lipid-bilayer bending resistance and cytoskeletal shear resistance under given reference constraints. In addition to the conventional membrane surface area, cell volume and bilayer-leaflet-area-difference constraints, a new constraint: total-membrane-curvature is proposed in the model to better predict RBC shapes in agreement with experimental observations. A quantitative evaluation of several cellular measurements including length, thickness and shape factor, is performed for the first time, between CG-RBC model predicted and three-dimensional (3D) confocal microscopy imaging generated RBC shapes at equivalent reference constraints. The validated CG-RBC membrane model is then employed to investigate the effect of reduced cell volume and elastic length scale on SDE transformation, to evaluate the RBC deformability during SDE transformation, and to identify the most probable RBC cytoskeletal reference state. The CG-RBC membrane model can predict the SDE shape behaviour under diverse shape-transforming scenarios, in-vitro RBC storage, microvascular circulation and flow through microfluidic devices.
Highlights
Red blood cell (RBC) is a unique cell without any nucleus or mitochondria [1,2,3] and is remarkably simple in its structure
The CG-RBC membrane model is used to investigate the effect of reduced cell volume ðnÞ on SDE transformation
A CG-RBC membrane model was developed in this study to improve the understanding of the stomatocyte-discocyte-echinocyte (SDE) transformation of RBC
Summary
Red blood cell (RBC) is a unique cell without any nucleus or mitochondria [1,2,3] and is remarkably simple in its structure. The most important function of RBC is the transfer of oxygen to body tissues and RBC is adapted with many features to maximize its performance as a gas carrier. It is extremely deformable and elastic to sustain its passage through narrow. A coarse-grained red blood cell membrane model to study stomatocyte-discocyte-echinocyte morphologies. Fee Sponsorship and QUT Excellence Top Up Scholarship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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