title: Abnormal properties of red blood cells suggest a role in the pathophysiology of Gaucher disease.
abstract: Gaucher disease (GD) is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by glucocerebrosidase deficiency. It is notably characterized by splenomegaly, complex skeletal involvement, ischemic events of the spleen and bones, and the accumulation of Gaucher cells in several organs. We hypothesized that red blood cells (RBCs) might be involved in some features of GD and studied the adhesive and hemorheologic properties of RBCs from GD patients. Hemorheologic analyses revealed enhanced blood viscosity, increased aggregation, and disaggregation threshold of GD RBCs compared with control (CTR) RBCs. GD RBCs also exhibited frequent morphologic abnormalities and lower deformability. Under physiologic flow conditions, GD RBCs adhered more strongly to human microvascular endothelial cells and to laminin than CTR. We showed that Lu/BCAM, the unique erythroid laminin receptor, is overexpressed and highly phosphorylated in GD RBCs, and may play a major role in the adhesion process. The demonstration that GD RBCs have abnormal rheologic and adhesion properties suggests that they may trigger ischemic events in GD, and possibly phagocytosis by macrophages, leading to the appearance of pathogenic Gaucher cells.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U665, INTS, 6 Rue Alexandre Cabanel, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Collec
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Connes
authors.forename: Emile
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van den Akker
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Billette de Villemeur
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Belmatoug
authors.forename: Marieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: von Lindern
authors.forename: Nejma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ameziane
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hermine
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Colin
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le Van Kim
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mignot
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D004913:Erythrocytes, Abnormal / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005776:Gaucher Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007797:Laminin / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000502:physiology; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000502:physiology; D012212:Rheology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007797:Laminin; C097043:laminin alpha5; D010088:Oxidoreductases