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Loading red blood cells with trehalose: a step towards biostabilization.

Author(s) : SATPATHY G. R., TÖRÖK Z., BALI R., et al.

Type of article: Article

Summary

A method for freeze-drying red blood cells (RBCs) while maintaining a high degree of viability has important implications in blood transfusion and clinical medicine. The disaccharide trehalose, found in animals capable of surviving dehydration can aid in this process. As a first step toward RBC preservation, the author present a method for loading RBCs with trehalose. The method is based on the thermal properties of the RBC plasma membranes and provides efficient uptake of the sugar at 37 °C over 7 h. The data show that RBCs can be loaded with trehalose through a combination of osmotic imbalance and the phospholipid phase transition, resulting in intracellular trehalose concentrations of about 40 mM. During the loading period, the levels of ATP and 2,3-DPG are maintained close to the levels of fresh RBCs. Increasing the membrane fluidity through the use of a benzyl alcohol results in a higher concentration of intracellular trehalose. Osmotic fragility data show that trehalose exerts osmotic protection on RBCs. Flow cytometry data demonstrate that incubation of RBCs in a hypertonic trehalose solution results in a fraction of cells with different complexity and that it can be removed by washing and resuspending the RBCs in an iso-osmotic medium. The data provide an important first step in long-term preservation of RBCs.

Details

  • Original title: Loading red blood cells with trehalose: a step towards biostabilization.
  • Record ID : 2005-1499
  • Languages: English
  • Source: Cryobiology - vol. 49 - n. 2
  • Publication date: 2004/10

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