Red Blood Cell Morphology and its Role

in Cell Membrane Stiffness:

Implications for Treating Atherosclerosis

S AMUEL BOL AND

D E PA RT M E N T O F B I O M E D I C A L E N G I N E E R I N G
S U M M E R T RA N S L AT I O N A L C A R D I OVA S C U L A R S C I E N C E I N S T I T U T E
1 AUGUST 2016

Mechanical properties of diseased cells can be manipulated to more

effectively treat disease1

http://www.newbeginningshealthcare.net/articles/cardiovascula
r-risk-and-support/atherosclerosis/

Zhang, S., Gao, H., & Bao, G. (2015). Physical Principles of

Nanoparticle Cellular Endocytosis. ACS Nano.

Huang, C., Butler, P. J., Tong, S., Muddana, H. S., Bao, G., & Zhang, S. (2013).
Substrate stiffness regulates cellular uptake of nanoparticles. Nano Letters, 13(4),
1

Changing red blood cell morphology using osmosis simulates varying

shapes of cells

Control

Hypoton
ic

Hyperton
ic

An optical trap on a low power setting can be used to measure the

bending modulus of red blood cells2

Betz, T., Lenz, M., Joanny, J.-F., & Sykes, C. (2009). ATP-dependent mechanics of red blood cells.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(36), 15320
2

Displacement data is fit to a known curve using MATLAB software

Baseline removal RMSD measurements suggest 0.78mW may be best

power to use

Statistical tests show bending modulus does not change significantly with
morphology change

One-way ANOVA test:

No significance

In conclusion, varying red blood cell morphology is most likely not the
reason for discrepancies in membrane bending experiments
Potential Future Directions:
1. Exploring effects of cytoskeletal
manipulation on bending modulus of red
blood cells
2. Experimenting with dead or dying cells

Questions?
Acknowledgements:
Dr. Peter J Butler, PhD
Dr. Siu Ling Leung, PhD
Carey Womack, B.S.
American Heart Association Grant #16UFEL27930008