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During their approximately 100-day lifespan in the bloodstream, red blood cells (RBCs) lose membrane surface area, volume, and hemoglobin content.
A study published in PLOS Computational Biology shows that, of these 3 changes, only surface-area loss can be explained by RBCs shedding small, hemoglobin-containing vesicles budding off their cells’ membrane.
Therefore, an unknown process must be primarily responsible for loss of RBC volume and hemoglobin reduction.
Roy Malka, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and his colleagues noted that variations in RBCs’ mean volume and hemoglobin content are associated with important clinical conditions, but the mechanisms controlling these physical characteristics are not well understood.
Vesicle shedding was thought to be the most important mechanism, but the researchers found evidence to suggest that a dominant role for vesicle shedding would violate empirical geometric and biophysical constraints.
So they concluded that an unknown mechanism must control loss of RBC volume and hemoglobin reduction. And this mechanism is likely responsible for 60% to 90% of volume loss and hemoglobin reduction.
The group’s work combined mathematical modeling of the mechanism that changes the physical properties of RBCs, clinical measurements of both cellular volume and hemoglobin content, and data from a new system for characterizing the non-water cellular mass of individual cells.
The researchers said the quantitative characterization of RBC loss processes will help focus future research into the molecular mechanisms of RBC maturation. And it may ultimately help in the early detection of clinical conditions where the RBC maturation pattern is altered. 
During their approximately 100-day lifespan in the bloodstream, red blood cells (RBCs) lose membrane surface area, volume, and hemoglobin content.
A study published in PLOS Computational Biology shows that, of these 3 changes, only surface-area loss can be explained by RBCs shedding small, hemoglobin-containing vesicles budding off their cells’ membrane.
Therefore, an unknown process must be primarily responsible for loss of RBC volume and hemoglobin reduction.
Roy Malka, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and his colleagues noted that variations in RBCs’ mean volume and hemoglobin content are associated with important clinical conditions, but the mechanisms controlling these physical characteristics are not well understood.
Vesicle shedding was thought to be the most important mechanism, but the researchers found evidence to suggest that a dominant role for vesicle shedding would violate empirical geometric and biophysical constraints.
So they concluded that an unknown mechanism must control loss of RBC volume and hemoglobin reduction. And this mechanism is likely responsible for 60% to 90% of volume loss and hemoglobin reduction.
The group’s work combined mathematical modeling of the mechanism that changes the physical properties of RBCs, clinical measurements of both cellular volume and hemoglobin content, and data from a new system for characterizing the non-water cellular mass of individual cells.
The researchers said the quantitative characterization of RBC loss processes will help focus future research into the molecular mechanisms of RBC maturation. And it may ultimately help in the early detection of clinical conditions where the RBC maturation pattern is altered.
During their approximately 100-day lifespan in the bloodstream, red blood cells (RBCs) lose membrane surface area, volume, and hemoglobin content.
A study published in PLOS Computational Biology shows that, of these 3 changes, only surface-area loss can be explained by RBCs shedding small, hemoglobin-containing vesicles budding off their cells’ membrane.
Therefore, an unknown process must be primarily responsible for loss of RBC volume and hemoglobin reduction.
Roy Malka, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and his colleagues noted that variations in RBCs’ mean volume and hemoglobin content are associated with important clinical conditions, but the mechanisms controlling these physical characteristics are not well understood.
Vesicle shedding was thought to be the most important mechanism, but the researchers found evidence to suggest that a dominant role for vesicle shedding would violate empirical geometric and biophysical constraints.
So they concluded that an unknown mechanism must control loss of RBC volume and hemoglobin reduction. And this mechanism is likely responsible for 60% to 90% of volume loss and hemoglobin reduction.
The group’s work combined mathematical modeling of the mechanism that changes the physical properties of RBCs, clinical measurements of both cellular volume and hemoglobin content, and data from a new system for characterizing the non-water cellular mass of individual cells.
The researchers said the quantitative characterization of RBC loss processes will help focus future research into the molecular mechanisms of RBC maturation. And it may ultimately help in the early detection of clinical conditions where the RBC maturation pattern is altered.