SKM 2021 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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SYCO: Symposium The Physics of CoViD Infections
SYCO 1: The Physics of CoViD Infections
SYCO 1.3: Hauptvortrag
Montag, 27. September 2021, 14:45–15:15, Audimax 1
The physical phenotype of blood cells is altered in COVID-19 — Markéta Kubánková1, Martin Kräter1, Bettina Hohberger2, and •Jochen Guck1,3 — 1Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light & Max Planck Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, Erlangen, Germany — 2Department of Ophthalmology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen, Germany — 3Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen, Germany
The clinical syndrome coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) induced by SARS-CoV-2 continues to be a major health concern worldwide. While the pathology is not yet fully understood, a hyper-inflammatory response and thrombotic events leading to congestion of microvessels are key signatures of disease pathogenesis. Until now, the physical changes of blood cells have not been considered in the context of COVID-19 related vascular occlusion and organ damage. Here we report an evaluation of multiple physical parameters including the mechanical features of five frequent blood cell types, namely erythrocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, and eosinophils. In total, more than 4 million blood cells of 17 COVID-19 hospitalized patients at different levels of severity, 24 volunteers free from infectious or inflammatory diseases, and 14 recovered COVID- 19 patients were analyzed. We found significant changes in lymphocyte stiffness, monocyte size, neutrophil size and deformability, and heterogeneity of erythrocyte deformation and size. While some of these changes reverted to normal values after hospitalization, others persisted for months after hospital discharge, evidencing the long-term imprint of COVID-19 on the body.