To assess modulation of laser on erythrocyte permeability and deformability via cell morphology changes, healthy human echinocytes with shrinking size and high plasmic viscosity due to cellular dehydration were treated with 1 mW, 2 mW, 3 mW, and 5 mW laser power exposure respectively. Image analyzing system on single intact erythrocyte was applied for measuring comprehensive cell morphological parameters (surface area, external membrane perimeter, circle index and elongation index) that were determined by the modulation of erythrocyte water permeability and deformability to detect relationship between erythrocyte water permeability alteration and deformability. Our preliminary experiment showed that exposure under light dose of 5 mW for 5 min could induce more active erythrocyte swelling and deformation. water channel aquaporin-1(AQP-1) was inhibited by the incubation of HgCl₂ in the presence and absence of 5 mW laser irradiation. The result suggested that osmotic water permeability is a primary factor in the procedure of erythrocyte deformability. In addition, no modulation of laser(5mW) on erythrocyte deformability had been found when the echinocytes were cultured with GDP-β-S (G protein inhibitor).

Date Published: 1 May 2007
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 6534, Fifth International Conference on Photonics and Imaging in Biology and Medicine, 653424 (1 May 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.741631

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6534:
Fifth International Conference on Photonics and Imaging in Biology and Medicine
Qingming Luo; Lihong V. Wang; Valery V. Tuchin; Min Gu, Editor(s)