Dietary supplementation with docosahexanoic acid (DHA) increases red blood cell membrane flexibility in mice with sickle cell disease. Blood Cells Mol Dis 2015 Feb;54(2):183-8
Date
12/10/2014Pubmed ID
25488613Pubmed Central ID
PMC4297559DOI
10.1016/j.bcmd.2014.11.004Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84922561175 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 27 CitationsAbstract
Humans and mice with sickle cell disease (SCD) have rigid red blood cells (RBCs). Omega-3 fatty acids, such as docosahexanoic acid (DHA), may influence RBC deformability via incorporation into the RBC membrane. In this study, sickle cell (SS) mice were fed natural ingredient rodent diets supplemented with 3% DHA (DHA diet) or a control diet matched in total fat (CTRL diet). After 8weeks of feeding, we examined the RBCs for: 1) stiffness, as measured by atomic force microscopy; 2) deformability, as measured by ektacytometry; and 3) percent irreversibly sickled RBCs on peripheral blood smears. Using atomic force microscopy, it is found that stiffness is increased and deformability decreased in RBCs from SS mice fed CTRL diet compared to wild-type mice. In contrast, RBCs from SS mice fed DHA diet had markedly decreased stiffness and increased deformability compared to RBCs from SS mice fed CTRL diet. Furthermore, examination of peripheral blood smears revealed less irreversibly sickled RBCs in SS mice fed DHA diet as compared to CTRL diet. In summary, our findings indicate that DHA supplementation improves RBC flexibility and reduces irreversibly sickled cells by 40% in SS mice. These results point to potential therapeutic benefits of dietary omega-3 fatty acids in SCD.
Author List
Wandersee NJ, Maciaszek JL, Giger KM, Hanson MS, Zheng S, Guo Y, Mickelson B, Hillery CA, Lykotrafitis G, Low PS, Hogg NAuthor
Neil Hogg PhD Sr Associate Dean, Professor in the Biophysics department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Anemia, Sickle CellAnimals
Dietary Supplements
Disease Models, Animal
Docosahexaenoic Acids
Erythrocyte Count
Erythrocyte Deformability
Erythrocyte Membrane
Humans
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Microscopy, Atomic Force
