Donor Age and Red Cell Age Contribute to the Variance in Lorrca Indices in Healthy Donors for Next Generation Ektacytometry: A Pilot Study

Ankie M van Cromvoirt; Simone Fenk; Ario Sadafi; Elizaveta V Melnikova; Denis A Lagutkin; Kuntal Dey; Irina Yu Petrushanko; Inga Hegemann; Jeroen S Goede; Anna Bogdanova

doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.639722

Donor Age and Red Cell Age Contribute to the Variance in Lorrca Indices in Healthy Donors for Next Generation Ektacytometry: A Pilot Study

Front Physiol. 2021 Mar 2:12:639722. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.639722. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Ankie M van Cromvoirt¹, Simone Fenk¹, Ario Sadafi^{2

3}, Elizaveta V Melnikova⁴, Denis A Lagutkin⁴, Kuntal Dey¹, Irina Yu Petrushanko⁴, Inga Hegemann⁵, Jeroen S Goede^{6

7}, Anna Bogdanova^{1

7}

Affiliations

¹ Red Blood Cell Research Group, Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Veterinary Physiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
² Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.
³ Computer Aided Medical Procedures, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
⁴ Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
⁵ Department of Medical Oncology and Hematology, University Hospital and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁶ Division of Oncology and Hematology, Kantonsspital Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland.
⁷ Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Abstract

The ability of red blood cells (RBCs) to transport gases, their lifespan as well as their rheological properties invariably depend on the deformability, hydration, and membrane stability of these cells, which can be measured by Laser optical rotational red cell analyser (Lorrca® Maxsis, RR Mechatronics). The osmoscan mode of Lorrca is currently used in diagnosis of rare anemias in clinical laboratories. However, a broad range of normal values for healthy subjects reduces the sensitivity of this method for diagnosis of mild disease phenotype. In this pilot study, we explored the impact of age and gender of 45 healthy donors, as well as RBC age on the Lorrca indices. Whereas gender did not affect the Lorrca indices in our study, the age donors had a profound effect on the O_hyper parameter. To study the impact of RBC age on the osmoscan parameters, we have isolated low (L)-, medium (M)-, or high (H)- density fractions enriched with young, mature, and senescent RBCs, respectively, and evaluated the influence of RBC age-related properties, such as density, morphology, and redox state, on the osmoscan indices. As before, O_hyper was the most sensitive parameter, dropping markedly with an increase in RBC density and age. Senescence was associated with a decrease in deformability (EI_max) and tolerability to low and high osmolatites (Area). L-fraction was enriched with reticulocytes and cells with high projected area and EMA staining, but also contained a small number of cells small in projected area and most likely, terminally senescent. L-fraction was on average slightly less deformable than mature cells. The cells from the L-fraction produced more oxidants and NO than all other fractions. However, RBCs from the L-fraction contained maximal levels of reduced thiols compared to other fractions. Our study suggests that reference values for O_hyper should be age-stratified, and, most probably, corrected for the average RBC age. Further multi-center study is required to validate these suggestions before implementing them into clinical practice.

Keywords: aging; deformability; ektacytometry; hydration status; osmotic fragility of RBCs; red blood cells (erythrocytes).