Abnormal red blood cell morphological changes in thalassaemia associated with iron overload and oxidative stress.

AIMS: Iron overload is a major factor contributing to the overall pathology of thalassaemia, which is primarily mediated by ineffective erythropoiesis and shorter mature red blood cell (RBC) survival. Iron accumulation in RBCs generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that cause cellular damage such as lipid peroxidation and RBC membrane deformation. Abnormal RBCs in patients with thalassaemia are commonly known as microcytic hypochromic anaemia with poikilocytosis. However, iron and ROS accumulation in RBCs as related to RBC morphological changes in patients with thalassaemia has not been reported. METHODS: Twenty-one patients with thalassaemia, including HbH, HbH with Hb Constant Spring and ß-thalassaemia/HbE (splenectomy and non-splenectomy) genotypes, and five normal subjects were recruited. RBC morphology was analysed by light and scanning electron microscopy. Systemic and RBC iron status and oxidative stress were examined. RESULTS: Decreased normocytes were observed in the samples of patients with thalassaemia, with RBC morphological abnormality being related to the type of disease (α-thalassaemia or ß-thalassaemia) and splenic status. Target cells and crenated cells were mainly found in splenectomised patients with ß-thalassaemia/HbE, while target cells and teardrop cells were found in non-splenectomised patients. Patients with thalassaemia had high levels of serum ferritin, red cell ferritin and ROS in RBCs compared with normal subjects (p<0.05). Negative correlations between the amount of normocytes and serum ferritin (rs=-0.518, p=0.011), red cell ferritin (rs=-0.467, p=0.025) or ROS in RBCs (rs=-0.672, p<0.001) were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Iron overload and its consequent intracellular oxidative stress in RBCs were associated with reduce normocytes in patients with thalassaemia.

Oleic acid Enhances Dengue Virus But Not Dengue Virus-Like Particle Production from Mammalian Cells.

Despite the recent introduction of a commercial vaccine, the mosquito-transmitted dengue virus is still a worldwide public health problem. Based on the live attenuated vaccine strategy, the commercial vaccine has a less than optimal protective profile. Virus-like particles (VLPs) offer an attractive alternate vaccination strategy due to the effectively native presentation of epitopes in the absence of any infectious genetic material. However, the production of amounts of VLP in a platform that can support commercial development remains a major obstacle. This study generated two DENV 2 VLPs [codon-optimized and chimeric DENV/Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV)] and directly compared yields of these constructs by western blotting and dot blot hybridization. The effect of oleic acid supplementation, a process known to increase DENV production in natural infection, was also investigated. Results showed that the chimeric construct gave a two- to threefold higher yield than the codon-optimized construct and that while oleic acid increased DENV virion production in natural infection, it inhibited VLP production. These results suggest that further optimization of DENV VLP expression is possible, but it will require more understanding of how native DENV infection remodels the host cell machinery.