Morphological changes induced in erythrocyte by amyloid beta peptide and glucose depletion: A combined atomic force microscopy and biochemical study

Publication date: Available online 21 July 2018Source: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - BiomembranesAuthor(s): Cristiana Carelli-Alinovi, Simone Dinarelli, Beatrice Sampaolese, Francesco Misiti, Marco GirasoleAbstractCirculating red blood cells (RBCs) undergo aging, a fundamental physiological phenomenon that regulates their turnover. We show that treatment with beta amyloid peptide 1–42 (Aβ) accelerates the occurrence of morphological and biochemical aging markers in human RBCs and influences the cell metabolism leading to intracellular ATP depletion. The morphological pattern has been monitored using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) imaging and measuring the RBCs' plasma membrane roughness employed as a morphological parameter capable to provide information on the structure and integrity of the membrane-skeleton. Results evidence that Aβ boosts the development of crenatures and proto-spicules simultaneously to acceleration in the weakening of the cell-cytoskeleton contacts and to the induction of peculiar nanoscale features on the cell membrane. Incubation in the presence of glucose can remove all but the latter Aβ-induced effects.Biochemical data demonstrate that contemporaneously to morphological and structural alterations, Aβ and glucose depletion trigger a complex signaling pathway involving caspase 3, protein kinase C (PKC) and nitric oxide derived metabolites.As a whole, the collected data revealed that, the damaging path induced by Aβ in RBC provide a sequen...
Source: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) Biomembranes - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research