Ultra-structural Changes in Red Blood Cell Membranes and Morphology due to Cigarette Smoking

Ina-Adele Keyser, BSc Hons (Physiology) Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Health Sciences Faculty, University of Pretoria.

The World Health Organization estimated in 2013 that 1.4 billion people smoke cigarettes and/or other tobacco products worldwide and 6 million people die due to smoking related diseases. Smoking is rapidly becoming an epidemic and holds major risk factors for diseases such as atherosclerosis, heart disease and stroke. Research has shown that smoking causes changes in erythrocyte (red blood cell) membrane fluidity. The aim of the current research is to determine if these changes in membrane fluidity are ultra-structurally visible. Sixty-five experimental and control subjects were selected for the study. Smokers had smoked on average 4 cigarettes per day for 230 years. Smears of whole blood were prepared for scanning electron microscopy and viewed with a Zeiss ULTRA plus FEG-SEM with InLens capabilities. Erythrocyte surface morphology was viewed at 1 kV and micrographs were taken at 30,000150,000 machine magnification. It was also compared to light micrographs, taken with a Nikon Digital Camera DXM1200F using a Nikon OPTIPHOT light microscope, at 100x magnification. A difference in membrane surface as well as morphology was visible in smokers, as opposed to the smooth membrane surface and discoid shape in healthy individuals. Research has noted changed membrane fluidity and the preliminary results of the current study suggest that this is visible ultra-structurally. Therefore, changes in membrane fluidity are structurally visible and translate into a more irregular membrane surface and pointed cellular morphology. KEYWORDS: Erythrocytes, red blood cells, scanning electron microscopy, smoking