The Effects of Ethanol on the Morphological and Biochemical Properties of Individual Human Red Blood Cells.

Sang Yun Lee,Hyun Joo Park,Seongsoo Jang,Yong Keun Park,Catherine Best-Popescu,Philippe Connes

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145327

Abstract

Here, we report the results of a study on the effects of ethanol exposure on human red blood cells (RBCs) using quantitative phase imaging techniques at the level of individual cells. Three-dimensional refractive index tomograms and dynamic membrane fluctuations of RBCs were measured using common-path diffraction optical tomography, from which morphological (volume, surface area, and sphericity); biochemical (hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and Hb content); and biomechanical (membrane fluctuation) parameters were retrieved at various concentrations of ethanol. RBCs exposed to the ethanol concentration of 0.1 and 0.3% v/v exhibited cell sphericities higher than those of normal cells. However, mean surface area and sphericity of RBCs in a lethal alcoholic condition (0.5% v/v) are not statistically different with those of healthy RBCs. Meanwhile, significant decreases of Hb content and concentration in RBC cytoplasm at the lethal condition were observed. Furthermore, dynamic fluctuation of RBC membranes increased significantly upon ethanol treatments, indicating ethanol-induced membrane fluidization.

Highlights

Ethanol effects on human physiology is an important research topic, given the pervasiveness of alcohol abuse and the myriad of health and social problems associated with heavy drinking
The Common-path diffraction optical tomography (cDOT) records multiple 2-D optical fields of red blood cells (RBCs) illuminated at various angles of plane waves, from which 3-D refractive index (RI) maps of the RBCs are reconstructed using the optical diffraction tomography algorithm [26, 27]
Individual RBCs subjected to in-vitro ethanol exposure were non-invasively and quantitatively measured using a quantitative phase imaging (QPI) technique to investigate simultaneous effects of ethanol on morphological; biochemical (Hb concentration and Hb content); and biomechanical properties, without complicated sample preparation

Summary

Introduction

Ethanol (recreational alcohol) effects on human physiology is an important research topic, given the pervasiveness of alcohol abuse and the myriad of health and social problems associated with heavy drinking. Ethanol and similar anesthetic drugs cause significant alterations of cells, tissues, and organs. Ethanol exposure induces cell membrane remodeling in various cell types and lipid vesicles, including membrane fluidization. Ethanol-induced membrane fluidization, in particular, has been extensively explored using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy [1,2,3] and fluorescence anisotropy [4]. Alcohol-induced modifications in red blood cell (RBC) membranes have been extensively investigated as a model system using diverse experimental techniques that include EPR.

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Conclusion