Aging-related changes in the calorimetric profile of red blood cells from women with miscarriages

Abstract

Miscarriages are one of the most common problems of pregnancy abnormalities, however, in most cases the etiology of this pathology is unknown. Herein, we applied differential scanning calorimetry to study the aging process of red blood cells (RBCs) derived from women with miscarriages as compared to healthy non-pregnant and pregnant women of reproductive age, with the aim to identify specific calorimetric features associated with high-risk pregnancy. The calorimetric profiles of RBCs derived from healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women along the cells aging path are characterized with: (1) slow reduction in the hemoglobin heat capacity and (2) downshift of the thermal transitions of hemoglobin, Band 3 and Band 2.1, 4.1 and 4.2 proteins. A large population (71%) of the studied cases with miscarriage are associated with faster aging of RBCs, i.e., faster thermal destabilization of hemoglobin and Band 3 transitions compared to healthy non-pregnant and pregnant women. The results suggest that the accelerated temperature-induced destabilization of RBCs from the majority of women that underwent miscarriages along cells aging is an additional criterion for estimation of the risk of miscarriage.