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    STUDIA CHEMIA - Issue no. 4(II) / 2009  
         
  Article:   DESFERAL EFFECT ON HUMAN ERYTHROCYTE MEMBRANE. AN ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY ANALYSIS.

Authors:  MARIA TOMOAIA-COTISEL, DANIELA-VASILICA POP-TOADER, ULPIU VLAD ZDRENGHEA, GHEORGHE TOMOAIA, OSSI HOROVITZ, AURORA MOCANU.
 
       
         
  Abstract:  The surface topography of erythrocyte membrane was imaged with the atomic force microscope (AFM), operating in tapping mode, and the effect of desferal (deferoxamine mesylate: DFO) at various concentrations on the cell membrane was investigated. The normal (control) human erythrocytes, without DFO, showed a clear concave form. After the incubation of fresh blood with increasing DFO concentrations, from 5 x10- 7 M to 5 x 10- 3 M, a progressive increase in both concave depth and surface roughness of erythrocytes were observed. Further, the AFM images indicated that the particles (granules) of the cell surface nanostructure increased with the increasing DFO concentrations. This increase of surface granules is due to the aggregation of lipid nanoparticles and lipid domain formation, induced by DFO. The data are in substantial agreement with our previously published results obtained on lipid membrane models in the presence of DFO. Besides domain formation, the pore formation within human erythrocyte membrane was observed in the presence of desferal. The DFO effect on lipid membranes might be also associated with the modification of both the conformation and the aggregation of membrane proteins, probably leading to an increased permeability of cell membrane.

Keywords: desferal, domain formation; porous membrane structure; erythrocyte membrane; AFM
 
         
     
         
         
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