Mechanical adaptivity of red blood cell flickering to extrinsic membrane stiffening by the solid-like biosurfactant β-Aescin.

ABSTRACT: β-Aescin is a natural additive employed for treatments of vascular insufficiency, hence its impact in red blood cell (RBC) adaptivity has been conjectured. Here, we report a study about the mechanical impact of the membrane stiffener aescin on the flickering motions of live RBCs maintained at the homeostatic status. An active flickering, or nonequilibrium fluctuation dynamics has been revealed by mapping flickering motions in single RBCs treated or not with aescin. Experiments show that active RBC flickers adapt mechanically to β-escin, unlike the passive thermal fluctuations observed in lipid bilayers without an active skeleton. Mechanical connections for active flickering are theoretically argued to exist between an effective viscoelastic softness bestowed by the spectrin membrane cytosk

SUBMITTER: Moleiro LH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12256860 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature