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Polystyrene Nanoparticles Activate Erythrocyte Aggregation and Adhesion to Endothelial Cells

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Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) are drawing an increasing clinical interest because of their potential use as drug carriers. Recently, a new strategy for elevation of NPs in vivo circulation time has been proposed, specifically, utilizing red blood cells (RBCs) as a carrier for NPs, that are loaded with a drug, by interaction (in vitro) of human RBCs with NPs (RBCNP). This class of delivery set-up, combines advantages of natural RBCs and synthetic biomaterials. Previous studies demonstrated that NPs initiated hemolysis of RBC and activated cells aggregation. In the present study, we examined the effect of RBCNP on the aggregation of RBC and their adhesion to endothelial cells (EC). Red cells were treated with polystyrene NPs (PS-NP), and following their washing, were added to suspension of untreated cells at various concentrations. We observed that the PS-NP and RBCNP initiated the formation of red cells aggregates and markedly elevated RBC adhesion to EC. These effects were augmented with (a) increasing concentration of NPs or RBCNP, and (b) with decreasing NP size. This implies that RBCNP are cells with a stronger intercellular interaction, and may thereby induce the formation of large and strong aggregates with untreated RBC, as well as strong RBC/EC interaction.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Mrs. O. Fredman for technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, The Faculty of Medicine, Hadassah Medical School, The Hebrew University, 91120, Jerusalem, Israel

    Gregory Barshtein & Saul Yedgar

  2. The Diabetes Research Center, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel

    Leonid Livshits

  3. The Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    Leonid D. Shvartsman

  4. Department of Neonatology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel

    Noa Ofek Shlomai

  5. Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel

    Dan Arbell

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  1. Gregory Barshtein
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  2. Leonid Livshits
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  3. Leonid D. Shvartsman
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  4. Noa Ofek Shlomai
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  5. Saul Yedgar
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  6. Dan Arbell
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Correspondence to Saul Yedgar.

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Barshtein, G., Livshits, L., Shvartsman, L.D. et al. Polystyrene Nanoparticles Activate Erythrocyte Aggregation and Adhesion to Endothelial Cells. Cell Biochem Biophys 74, 19–27 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-015-0705-6

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