Impaired red cell deformability in iron deficient subjects

Iron deficiency is a systemic disorder, which affects a variety of different cell types and is one of the most frequent diseases throughout the world. The influence of iron deficiency upon erythrocyte deformability is controversial and could be a consequence of membrane peroxidation damage or cross linking of membrane proteins. The aim of this study was to determine the overall elasticity (the deformability of the entire cell is evaluated) of iron deficient red blood cells (RBC) using laser optical tweezers. In this study, the laser trapped the cell and the elasticity was then analyzed measuring cell deformation at six different drag velocities. Twenty-five RBCs from 11 healthy blood donors (controls) and 7 patients with iron deficiency anemia were analyzed. Iron deficiency subjects were classified into 3 groups based on Hb concentration for statistical analysis (group I: Hb = 7.0-7.9; group II: 8.0-10.2 and group III: 7.0-10.2 g/dl). The results showed an increased rigidity in the iron deficiency of deficient red blood cells when compared to normal control blood cells, and, this impaired deformability seems to be correlated to the hemoglobin concentration. In conclusion, the results obtained by optical tweezers showed that iron deficiency affects the elasticity of whole RBC.