Impact of non-adsorbing macromolecules on red blood cell adhesion to endothelial cells

• Main Author: Yang, Yang
• Other Authors: Liao Kin
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering::Biotechnology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/42270
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Abnormal adhesion of red blood cells (RBC) to endothelial cells (EC) has been linked to several vascular diseases such as sickle cell anemia and diabetes mellitus. Plasma proteins have been identified to promote abnormal RBC-EC adhesion but the mechanism has not been fully understood. Aiming to provide a better understanding of the adhesion-promoting effects of plasma proteins, this thesis studies the hypothesis that non-adsorbing macromolecules can induce or promote RBC adhesion to EC by inducing depletion interaction. Furthermore, it is suggested that depletion interaction is an alternative mechanism for the adhesion promoting effects of non-adsorbing plasma proteins.