Red Blood Cell Vitamin C Concentration and Its Effect on Deformability in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease

Red cell rigidity is common in sickle cell disease (SCD). The contribution of oxidative stress on deformability remains unknown. This study investigated red blood cell (RBC) vitamin C concentrations in pediatric SCD (n=43) compared with healthy controls (n=23) and developed a protocol to raise RBC vitamin C concentrations to measure the effect on deformability. Sickle cell RBC vitamin C concentrations seem low (20.5 mu M, SD: 16.2 vs. 51.7 mu M, SD: 15.8; P<0.0001). Vitamin C can be successfully loaded into sickle cell RBCs but seems to have minimal effect on deformability. Future studies are needed to understand the clinical implications of vitamin C deficiency in pediatric SCD.