Biomechanical and biochemical investigation of erythrocytes in late stage human leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira, which can cause lipid changes in the erythrocyte membrane. Optical tweezers were used to characterize rheological changes in erythrocytes from patients with leptospirosis in the late stage. Biochemical methods were also...
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| Published in: | Brazilian journal of medical and biological research Vol. 53; no. 8; pp. 1 - e9268 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ribeirao Preto
Associacao Brasileira de Divulgacao Cientifica (ABDC)
01-08-2020
Revista Brasileira de Pesquisas Medicas Associação Brasileira de Divulgação Científica |
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| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira, which can cause lipid changes in the erythrocyte membrane. Optical tweezers were used to characterize rheological changes in erythrocytes from patients with leptospirosis in the late stage. Biochemical methods were also used for quantification of plasma lipid, erythrocyte membrane lipid, and evaluation of liver function. Our data showed that the mean elastic constant of erythrocytes from patients with leptospirosis was around 67% higher than the control (healthy individuals), indicating that patient's erythrocytes were less elastic. In individuals with leptospirosis, several alterations in relation to control were observed in the plasma lipids, however, in the erythrocyte membrane, only phosphatidylcholine showed a significant difference compared to control, increasing around 41%. With respect to the evaluation of liver function of individuals with leptospirosis, there was a significant increase in levels of alanine transaminase (154%) and aspartate transaminase (150%), whereas albumin was 43.8% lower than control (P<0.01). The lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase fractional activity was 3.6 times lower in individuals with leptospirosis than in the healthy individuals (P<0.01). The decrease of the erythrocyte elasticity may be related to the changes of erythrocyte membrane phospholipids composition caused by disturbances that occur during human leptospirosis, with phosphatidylcholine being a strong candidate in the erythrocyte rheological changes. Key words: Leptospirosis; Lipid composition of membrane; Erythrocyte elasticity; Optical tweezers; Erythrocyte membrane |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 0100-879X 1414-431X 1414-431X 1678-4510 |
| DOI: | 10.1590/1414-431x20209268 |