The Effects of Ethanol on the Morphological and Biochemical Properties of Individual Human Red Blood Cells |
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| Authors: | Sang Yun Lee Hyun Joo Park Catherine Best-Popescu Seongsoo Jang Yong Keun Park |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.; 2. Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America.; 3. Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine and Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.; Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, FRANCE, |
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| 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. |
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