Erythrocyte deformability during their life span: studies using a new animal model of erythrocyte senescence

Using the model in which the entire RBC population was nearly synchronously produced following the induction of spherocytic anemia in the rabbit with antibody serum, we determined the changes of RBC deformability with aging. The deformation index (DI) and integration deformation index (IDI), which reflect the deformability of the RBC and its membrane, respectively, were measured with ektacytometry. Both indices decreased with RBC aging in a nonlinear fashion, with increasingly greater changes in the later part of the RBC life span. The alterations of RBC mechanical properties with aging may be attributable to a number of factors, including changes of RBC size and shape, and the viscoelasticity of the cytoplasm and membrane