Study of damage to red blood cells exposed to different doses of γ-ray irradiation

Analysis of red blood cell irradiation practices from South India

INTRODUCTION

Age of red blood cell (RBC) units at the time of irradiation is important and prolonged storage of preirradiated units is detrimental. The objectives were to determine RBC age at irradiation, days from expiry (DFE), and percentage of late transfusions of irradiated RBC. To estimate the concordance on expiry of irradiated RBC units with present American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)/Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), New Delhi over British Committee for Standards in Hematology (BCSH) and Council of Europe (CE) guidelines.

METHODS

All the RBC units irradiated for a 1 year period were included. Retrieved data included date of collection, irradiation, revised expiry, and issue of blood. Late transfusions are units transfused in the last 2 week of RBC's shelf-life and wastage due to expiry was determined. Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for comparisons between the guidelines.

RESULTS

Out of 1303 RBC units irradiated, the median age for irradiation was 2 (0-36) days and 99.3% units irradiated within day +14. Median DFE for these units transfused was 26 (0-28) days. 2.8% units expired as per local standards. Late transfusions happened in 121 (9.3%) units transfused. AABB/DGHS practice was not concordant with CE standards for 86 (6.6%) units and with BCSH 94 (7.2%) units. Overall discordance between the present practices was CE and BCSH was seen in 130 (10%) events.

CONCLUSION

Median RBC irradiation age and DFE was two and 26 days respectively at our center. Only 90% concordance was observed between AABB/DGHS and CE/BCSH guidelines with 9.3% units transfused as late transfusions. Restricting late transfusions of irradiated RBC can act as surrogate to improve the quality of units transfused through an inexpensive strategy.

Irradiating stored blood and storing irradiated blood: Is it different? - A study of serial changes in biochemical parameters of red blood cell units

INTRODUCTION

Gamma Irradiation of blood products accentuates biochemical changes in the blood stored at 4°C. This study tried to compare the changes in potassium, sodium, glucose, lactate, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in packed red blood cell (PRBC) units irradiated at various time points and then stored versus those stored for a particular period then irradiated.

METHODOLOGY

One hundred and eighty units of RBCs were randomly assigned equally to be irradiated or not. Eighteen units each were irradiated by gamma irradiator using cobalt 60 (BI 2000) on day 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 of their storage, respectively, in the irradiation group. All the units were assessed for their plasma levels of potassium, sodium, glucose, LDH, and lactate by clinical chemistry auto analyzer Beckman coulter AU680 weekly. The values were documented and analyzed by SPSS.

RESULTS

Baseline values on day 1 for studied biochemical parameters were comparable between irradiated and nonirradiated groups. Mean values of potassium, lactate and LDH were higher in irradiated than nonirradiated PRBC bags. In contrast, Sodium and Glucose mean values were lower than baseline values. Maximum cumulative mean values were noted in day-21 irradiated bags when the parameters were measured on day-28 for potassium and lactate levels. This was followed by day 14 irradiated bags, followed by day 7 irradiated bags.

CONCLUSION

The study indicates that irradiation of red cells later in their storage period had comparatively more detrimental changes in relation to potassium and lactate than irradiation in earlier days. Consideration of irradiation to be performed as close to the issue as possible to reduce a lesser number of days of storage postirradiation is to be explored.

Nanoscale Changes on RBC Membrane Induced by Storage and Ionizing Radiation: A Mini-Review

The storage lesions and the irradiation of blood cellular components for medical procedures in blood banks are events that may induce nanochanges in the membrane of red blood cells (RBCs). Alterations, such as the formation of pores and vesicles, reduce flexibility and compromise the overall erythrocyte integrity. This review discusses the alterations on erythrocytic lipid membrane bilayer through their characterization by confocal scanning microscopy, Raman, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy techniques. The interrelated experimental results may address and shed light on the correlation of biomechanical and biochemical transformations induced in the membrane and cytoskeleton of stored and gamma-irradiated RBC. To highlight the main advantages of combining these experimental techniques simultaneously or sequentially, we discuss how those outcomes observed at micro- and nanoscale cell levels are useful as biomarkers of cell aging and storage damage.

Development of hematopoietic syndrome mice model for localized radiation exposure

Current models to study the hematopoietic syndrome largely rely on the uniform whole-body exposures. However, in the radio-nuclear accidents or terrorist events, exposure can be non-uniform. The data available on the non-uniform exposures is limited. Thus, we have developed a mice model for studying the hematopoietic syndrome in the non-uniform or partial body exposure scenarios using the localized cobalt⁶⁰ gamma radiation exposure. Femur region of Strain 'A' male mice was exposed to doses ranging from 7 to 20 Gy. The 30 day survival assay showed 19 Gy as LD₁₀₀ and 17 Gy as LD_50. We measured an array of cytokines and important stem cell markers such as IFN-γ, IL-3, IL-6, GM-CSF, TNF-α, G-CSF, IL-1α, IL-1β, CD 34 and Sca 1. We found significant changes in IL-6, GM-CSF, TNF-α, G-CSF, and IL-1β levels compared to untreated groups and amplified levels of CD 34 and Sca 1 positive population in the irradiated mice compared to the untreated controls. Overall, we have developed a mouse model of the hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome that might be useful for understanding of the non-uniform body exposure scenarios. This may also be helpful in the screening of drugs intended for individuals suffering from radiation induced hematopoietic syndrome.

Metabolomics analysis of Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 14917 adhesion activity under initial acid and alkali stress

The adhesion ability of Lactobacillus plantarum affects retention time in the human gastro-intestinal tract, as well as influencing the interaction with their host. In this study, the relationship between the adhesion activity of, and metabolic changes in, L. plantarum ATCC 14917 under initial acid and alkali stress was evaluated by analyzing auto-aggregation, protein adhesion and cell adhesion in vitro. Based on scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis, the morphology of the bacteria became thickset and the thickness of their cell walls decreased under initial alkali stress. The fold changes of auto-aggregation, adhere to mucin and HT-29 cell lines of L. plantarum ATCC 14917 in the acid group were increased by 1.141, 1.125 and 1.156, respectively. But decreased significantly in the alkali group (fold changes with 0.842, 0.728 and 0.667). Adhesion-related protein increased in the acid group but declined in the alkali group at the mRNA expression level according to real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. The changes in the metabolite profiles of L. plantarum ATCC 14917 were characterized using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray ionization-Quadrupole-Time of Flight-mass spectrometry (UPLS-ESI-Q-TOF-MS). In the alkali group, the content of a lot of substances involved in the energy and amino acid metabolism decreased, but the content of some substances involved in the energy metabolism was slightly increased in the acid group. These findings demonstrate that energy metabolism is positively correlated with the adhesion ability of L. plantarum ATCC 14917. The amino-acids metabolism, especially the amino acids related to pH-homeostasis mechanisms (lysine, aspartic acid, arginine, proline and glutamic acid), showed an obvious effect on the adhesion ability of L. plantarum ATCC 14917. This investigation provides a better understanding of L. plantarum's adhesion mechanisms under initial pH stress.

Quality Assessment of Established and Emerging Blood Components for Transfusion

Blood is donated either as whole blood, with subsequent component processing, or through the use of apheresis devices that extract one or more components and return the rest of the donation to the donor. Blood component therapy supplanted whole blood transfusion in industrialized countries in the middle of the twentieth century and remains the standard of care for the majority of patients receiving a transfusion. Traditionally, blood has been processed into three main blood products: red blood cell concentrates; platelet concentrates; and transfusable plasma. Ensuring that these products are of high quality and that they deliver their intended benefits to patients throughout their shelf-life is a complex task. Further complexity has been added with the development of products stored under nonstandard conditions or subjected to additional manufacturing steps (e.g., cryopreserved platelets, irradiated red cells, and lyophilized plasma). Here we review established and emerging methodologies for assessing blood product quality and address controversies and uncertainties in this thriving and active field of investigation.

Nanostructural Changes in the Cell Membrane of Gamma-Irradiated Red Blood Cells

The effect of gamma radiation on the ultrastructure of the cell membranes of red blood cells has been probed using a powerful tool, namely, atomic force microscopy. We used mice erythrocytes as a model. Blood samples withdrawn from mice were gamma-irradiated using a ⁶⁰Co source unit with doses of 10,15,20,25 and 30 Gy. Structural changes appeared in the form of nanoscale potholes, depressions and alterations of the cell membrane roughness. The roughness of the cell membrane increased dramatically with increasing doses, although at 10 Gy , the cell membrane roughness was less than that of normal red blood cells (controls). Therefore, such modifications at the nano-scale level may affect the biophysical properties of membranes, resulting in impairment of their function.

Metabolomics profile comparisons of irradiated and nonirradiated stored donor red blood cells

BACKGROUND

Understanding the metabolites that are altered by donor red blood cell (RBC) storage and irradiation may provide insight into the metabolic pathways disrupted by the RBC storage lesion.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Patterns of metabolites, representing more than 11,000 distinct mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) features, were compared between gamma-irradiated and nonirradiated CPDA-1-split RBCs from six human donors over 35 days of storage using multilevel sparse partial least squares discriminant analysis (msPLSDA), hierarchical clustering, pathway enrichment analysis, and network analysis.

RESULTS

In msPLSDA analysis, RBC units stored 7 days or fewer (irradiated or nonirradiated) showed similar metabolomic profiles. By contrast, donor RBCs stored 10 days or more demonstrated distinct clustering as a function of storage time and irradiation. Irradiation shifted metabolic features to those seen in older units. Hierarchical clustering analysis identified at least two clusters of metabolites that differentiated between RBC units based on storage time and irradiation exposure, confirming results of the msPLSDA analysis. Pathway enrichment analysis, used to map the discriminatory biochemical features to specific metabolic pathways, identified four pathways significantly affected by irradiation and/or storage including arachidonic acid (p = 3.3 × 10(-33)) and linoleic acid (p = 1.61 × 10(-11)) metabolism.

CONCLUSION

RBC storage under blood bank conditions produces numerous metabolic alterations. Gamma irradiation accentuates these differences as the age of blood increases, indicating that at the biochemical level irradiation accelerates metabolic aging of stored RBCs. Metabolites involved in the cellular membrane are prominently affected and may be useful biomarkers of the RBC storage lesion.