Effect of selected drugs used in asthma treatment on morphology and elastic properties of red blood cells

BACKGROUND The main function of red blood cells is to transport oxygen to all parts of the body with the help of hemoglobin. Other proteins of the cell membrane can attach xenobiotics (eg, drugs) from the blood and transport them throughout the body. Only drugs able to bind to the membrane of the red blood cell can modify its structure and elastic properties. The morphology and local elastic properties of living red blood cells incubated with drug solutions commonly used in the treatment of severe asthma were studied by atomic force microscopy and nanoindentation with an atomic force microscopy tip. METHODS The elasticity modules of native red blood cells, as well as those incubated with two types of drugs, ie, aminophylline and methylprednisolone, were determined from experimentally measured nanoindentation curves. RESULTS The elasticity modules of erythrocytes incubated with aminophylline were substantially higher than those obtained for nonincubated native, ie, healthy, red blood cells. CONCLUSION The increase of the elasticity module obtained for aminophylline can reduce the cell's ability to bind oxygen and transport it through capillaries.