title: Why do red blood cells have asymmetric shapes even in a symmetric flow?
abstract: Understanding why red blood cells (RBCs) move with an asymmetric shape (slipperlike shape) in small blood vessels is a long-standing puzzle in blood circulatory research. By considering a vesicle (a model system for RBCs), we discovered that the slipper shape results from a loss in stability of the symmetric shape. It is shown that the adoption of a slipper shape causes a significant decrease in the velocity difference between the cell and the imposed flow, thus providing higher flow efficiency for RBCs. Higher membrane rigidity leads to a dramatic change in the slipper morphology, thus offering a potential diagnostic tool for cell pathologies.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Physique, UMR, 140 avenue de la physique, Université Joseph Fourier Grenoble, and CNRS, 38402 Saint Martin d'Heres, France.
authors.forename: Badr
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kaoui
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Biros
authors.forename: Chaouqi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Misbah
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000502:physiology; D002200:Capillary Resistance; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004548:Elasticity; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D033081:Shear Strength; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D010743:Phospholipids; D010100:Oxygen