Berlin 2024 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 36: Cell Mechanics II
BP 36.10: Vortrag
Freitag, 22. März 2024, 12:30–12:45, H 0112
Red blood cell lingering: impact on microcirculation hematocrit distribution and differences in rigid versus healthy cells — •Yazdan Rashidi1, Selina Wrublewsky2, Felix Maurer1, Khadija Larhrissi1, Thomas John1, Lars Kaestner1, Matthias W. Laschke2, Michael D. Menger2, Christian Wagner1, and Alexis Darras1 — 1Experimental Physics, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany — 2Institute for Clinical and Experimental Surgery, Saarland University, 66421 Homburg, Germany
The distribution of red blood cells (RBCs) in the microcirculation determines how the oxygen is delivered to tissues and organs. This process relies on the partitioning of RBCs at successive microvascular bifurcations. Usually, downstream of a microvascular bifurcation, the vessel branch with a higher fraction of blood flow receives a higher fraction of RBC flux. However, both temporal and time-average deviations from this phase-separation law have been observed in recent works. Here, we quantify how the microscopic behaviour of RBCs lingering (i.e. RBCs temporarily residing near the bifurcation apex with diminished velocity) influences their partitioning, through combined in vivo experiments and in silico simulations. We developed an approach to quantify the cell lingering at highly confined capillary-level bifurcations and demonstrate that it correlates with deviations of the phase-separation process from established empirical predictions by Pries et al. Furthermore, we shed light on how the bifurcation geometry and cell membrane rigidity can affect the lingering behaviour of RBCs, and show rigid cells tend to linger less than softer ones.