Enhanced adherence of beta-thalassaemic erythrocytes to endothelial cells.
The adherence of red blood cells (RBC) to endothelial cells (EC), shown to correlate with microvascular occlusion in sickle cell disease and malaria, is considered a major contributor to microcirculatory disorders. In the present study the adherence to EC was markedly enhanced with RBC from beta-thalassaemia major (TM) patients, and even more so with RBC from beta-thalassaemia intermedia (TI) patients (10-fold and 25-fold higher than normal, respectively). It is proposed that enhanced RBC/EC adherence may contribute to the microcirculatory disorders observed in thalassaemia, especially in TI patients who are particularly known to suffer from leg ulcers.
Hovav
T
T
Department of Biochemistry, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
Goldfarb
A
A
Artmann
G
G
Yedgar
S
S
Barshtein
G
G
D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000097:blood*