BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that red blood
cell (RBC) senescence is accelerated under blood bank
conditions, although neither protein profile of RBC aging
nor the impact of additive solutions on it have been
studied in detail.
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: RBCs and vesicles
derived from RBCs in both citrate-phosphate-dextrose
(CPD)–saline-adenine-glucose-mannitol (SAGM) and
citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine (CPDA) were evaluated
for the expression of cell senescence markers
(vesiculation, protein aggregation, degradation, activation,
oxidation, and topology) through immunoblotting
technique and immunofluorescence or immunoelectron
microscopy study.
RESULTS: A group of cellular stress proteins exhibited
storage time– and storage medium–related changes in
their membrane association and exocytosis. The extent,
the rate, and the expression of protein oxidation, Fas
oligomerization, caspase activation, and protein modifi-
cations in Band 3, hemoglobin, and immunoglobulin G
were less conspicuous and/or exhibited significant time
retardation under storage in CPD-SAGM, compared to
the CPDA storage. There was evidence for the localization
of activated caspases near to the membrane of
both cells and vesicles.
CONCLUSIONS: We provide circumstantial evidence
for a lower protein oxidative damage in CPD-SAGM–
stored RBCs compared to the CPDA-stored cells. The
different expression patterns of the senescence
markers in the RBCs seem to be accordingly related to
the oxidative stress management of the cells. We
suggest that the storage of RBCs in CPD-SAGM might
be more alike the in vivo RBC aging process, compared
to storage in CPDA, since it is characterized by a
slower stimulation of the recognition signaling pathways
that are already known to trigger the erythrophagocytosis
of senescent RBCs.