Investigation of electrical and viscoelastic parameters of erythrocytes in patients with autoimmune gastritis

Abstract

Patients with autoimmune gastritis (AIG) often have anemia of various origins . Hematological disorders usually portend severe atrophy , and in many cases , are the only indicators of the disease . Aim of the study was to investigate the electrical and viscoelastic parameters of erythrocytes in patients with AIG for their possible use in diagnostics . Material and methods . 73 patients with AIG ( mean age 55.3 ± 12.54 years ) and 38 people of the control group were examined . Electrical and viscoelastic parameters of erythrocytes were studied by dielectrophoresis . Results . Statistically significant decrease in the average cell diameter , the proportion of discocytes cells and an increase in the proportion of spherocytes , deformed forms were found in the group of patients with AIG in combination with Helicobaсter рylori (H. pylori , H.p .) infection compared with healthy individuals . Patients with AIG had significantly lower levels of amplitude of deformation , membrane capacity , dipole moment , speed of cell movement to the electrodes , polarizability at high frequencies of the electric field ( 106 , 0.5×106 Hz ), relative polarizability , and , conversely , higher values of membrane conductivity , aggregation , destruction indexes , summarized viscosity , rigidity , than those in the comparison group . Between groups of patients with and without H. pylori infection , differences were found in indicators reflecting the surface charge of erythrocytes – the speed of movement to the electrodes (p = 0.019), the dipole moment (p < 0.001 ) and the state of the membranes – its capacity (p = 0.004). The diagnostic model , which includes three parameters of erythrocytes – the dipole moment , the speed of movement to the electrodes , the capacity of the cell membrane , provided high diagnostic accuracy of distinguishing AIG H.p . (+) and H.p . (–) – area under ROC curve AUC 0.925, sensitivity 92.4 %, specificity 89.7 %. Conclusions : Electrical and viscoelastic parameters of erythrocytes are promising in the diagnosis of AIG, including on the background of H. pylori infection .