Spin label study of erythrocyte membrane submitted to a bending stress.
Red blood cells were submitted to a bending stress by incubation in hyperosmolar media and their membrane molecular structure studied by a fatty acid paramagnetic label which probes its hydrophobic part. Measurement of the apparent rotation frequency of the label, and numerical analysis of the spectrum shapes indicate that a high fluidity phase appears in the stressed membrane. The physiological implications of this finding are discussed in the light of the rheological properties of the circulating red blood cell.
D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D005615:Freezing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008560:Membrane Fluidity; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D013113:Spin Labels; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013696:Temperature
D013113:Spin Labels