Red Blood Cell Morphology Is Associated with Altered Hemorheological Properties and Fatigue in Patients with Long COVID
Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection adversely affects rheological parameters, particularly red blood cell (RBC) aggregation and deformability, but whether these changes persist in patients suffering from Long-COVID (LC) and whether these changes are related to RBC morphology remain unknown. Methods: Ve...
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2024-11-01
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| author | Marijke Grau Alena Presche Anna-Lena Krüger Wilhelm Bloch Björn Haiduk |
| author_facet | Marijke Grau Alena Presche Anna-Lena Krüger Wilhelm Bloch Björn Haiduk |
| author_sort | Marijke Grau |
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| description | Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection adversely affects rheological parameters, particularly red blood cell (RBC) aggregation and deformability, but whether these changes persist in patients suffering from Long-COVID (LC) and whether these changes are related to RBC morphology remain unknown. Methods: Venous blood was collected from <i>n</i> = 30 diagnosed LC patients and <i>n</i> = 30 non-LC controls and RBC deformability, RBC aggregation, and hematological parameters were measured. In addition, RBCs were examined microscopically for morphological abnormalities. The mechanical sensitivity index (MS) was assessed in <i>n</i> = 15 LC and <i>n</i> = 15 non-LC samples. Results: Hematological parameters did not differ between the groups. However, LC showed higher aggregation-related parameters. Although RBC deformability was higher in LC, MS, reflecting the functional capacity to deform, was limited in this group. RBCs from LC showed significantly more morphological abnormalities. The extent of morphological abnormalities correlated with MS and the FACIT-Fatigue score of the LC patients. Conclusion: RBCs from LC show a high degree of morphological abnormalities, which might limit the blood flow determining RBC properties and also be related to fatigue symptomatology in LC. Approaches are now needed to understand the underlying cause of these alterations and to ameliorate these permanent changes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c1880ab19b0047f3b656f734b942d7dd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2079-7737 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-c1880ab19b0047f3b656f734b942d7dd2024-11-26T17:52:35ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372024-11-01131194810.3390/biology13110948Red Blood Cell Morphology Is Associated with Altered Hemorheological Properties and Fatigue in Patients with Long COVIDMarijke Grau0Alena Presche1Anna-Lena Krüger2Wilhelm Bloch3Björn Haiduk4Molecular and Cellular Sports Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sports Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, 50933 Cologne, GermanyMolecular and Cellular Sports Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sports Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, 50933 Cologne, GermanyMolecular and Cellular Sports Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sports Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, 50933 Cologne, GermanyMolecular and Cellular Sports Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sports Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, 50933 Cologne, GermanyS.P.O.R.T. Institut, Institute of Applied Sports Sciences, 51491 Overath, GermanyBackground: SARS-CoV-2 infection adversely affects rheological parameters, particularly red blood cell (RBC) aggregation and deformability, but whether these changes persist in patients suffering from Long-COVID (LC) and whether these changes are related to RBC morphology remain unknown. Methods: Venous blood was collected from <i>n</i> = 30 diagnosed LC patients and <i>n</i> = 30 non-LC controls and RBC deformability, RBC aggregation, and hematological parameters were measured. In addition, RBCs were examined microscopically for morphological abnormalities. The mechanical sensitivity index (MS) was assessed in <i>n</i> = 15 LC and <i>n</i> = 15 non-LC samples. Results: Hematological parameters did not differ between the groups. However, LC showed higher aggregation-related parameters. Although RBC deformability was higher in LC, MS, reflecting the functional capacity to deform, was limited in this group. RBCs from LC showed significantly more morphological abnormalities. The extent of morphological abnormalities correlated with MS and the FACIT-Fatigue score of the LC patients. Conclusion: RBCs from LC show a high degree of morphological abnormalities, which might limit the blood flow determining RBC properties and also be related to fatigue symptomatology in LC. Approaches are now needed to understand the underlying cause of these alterations and to ameliorate these permanent changes.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/13/11/948Long-COVIDred blood cellsmechanical sensitivity indexmorphologyRBC deformabilityRBC aggregation |
| spellingShingle | Marijke Grau Alena Presche Anna-Lena Krüger Wilhelm Bloch Björn Haiduk Red Blood Cell Morphology Is Associated with Altered Hemorheological Properties and Fatigue in Patients with Long COVID Biology Long-COVID red blood cells mechanical sensitivity index morphology RBC deformability RBC aggregation |
| title | Red Blood Cell Morphology Is Associated with Altered Hemorheological Properties and Fatigue in Patients with Long COVID |
| title_full | Red Blood Cell Morphology Is Associated with Altered Hemorheological Properties and Fatigue in Patients with Long COVID |
| title_fullStr | Red Blood Cell Morphology Is Associated with Altered Hemorheological Properties and Fatigue in Patients with Long COVID |
| title_full_unstemmed | Red Blood Cell Morphology Is Associated with Altered Hemorheological Properties and Fatigue in Patients with Long COVID |
| title_short | Red Blood Cell Morphology Is Associated with Altered Hemorheological Properties and Fatigue in Patients with Long COVID |
| title_sort | red blood cell morphology is associated with altered hemorheological properties and fatigue in patients with long covid |
| topic | Long-COVID red blood cells mechanical sensitivity index morphology RBC deformability RBC aggregation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/13/11/948 |
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