title: Fragmentation of human erythrocyte actin following exposure to hypoxia.
abstract: In a comparative study on erythrocytes (RBCs) drawn from mountaineers before and after a high-altitude stay, we observed that upon returning to sea level, their RBCs displayed a senescent-like phenotype as indicated by their density and the partial loss of membrane proteins which are shed by ageing RBCs. The aim of this study was to investigate possible changes in the membrane skeleton of these RBCs and to compare them with pathological RBCs. We analysed the proteins of RBC ghosts obtained from our subjects before and after returning to sea level by two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. We observed lower expression and fragmentation of beta-actin after exposure to hypoxia. This suggested an alteration in membrane skeleton structure, which was confirmed by beta-actin release in cell lysates during ghost preparation. We observed a similar actin fragmentation and release in RBC lysates from beta-thalassaemic patients. In conclusion, these results indicate that after exposure to hypoxia, RBCs display a modification of their actin and cytoskeleton instability.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Biology and Plant Protection, M.A.T.I. Centre of Excellence, University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 91, Udine, Italy. angela.risso@uniud.it
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Risso
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Santamaria
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pistarino
authors.forename: Maria Elisabetta
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Cosulich
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pompach
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bezouska
authors.forename: Guglielmo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Antonutto
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000502:physiology; D000199:Actins / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry; D000328:Adult; D000531:Altitude; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D004905:Erythrocyte Aging / Q000502:physiology; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000097:blood*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D009051:Mountaineering / Q000502:physiology; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry; D010641:Phenotype; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D004921:Erythropoietin