ERYTHROCYTE DEFORMABILITY AS A BIOCHEMICAL INDICATOR OF ZINC STATUS
Date
1997
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Masters
Abstract
It was hypothesized that zinc deficiency exerts an effect on RBC deformability through its influence on the plasma membrane and that this would form the basis for a biochemical indicator of zinc status. Weanling, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed ad libitum modified AIN-93G diets containing 3 mg zinc/kg diet (-Zn; n=10) for six weeks. Control rats were pair-fed (+ZnPF; n=10) or fed ad libitum (+ZnAL; n=9) diets with 50 mg zinc/kg diet. The mean (±SEM) weight gain (g) for the three groups was - Zn=161.6 ± 8.7, +ZnPF=203.0 ± 12.8 and +ZnAL=346.5 ± 11.5. Zinc deficiency and depressed food intake significantly decreased plasma and tibia zinc concentration (P<0.05). Experimental treatments had small but statistically significant effects on some parts of the hematological profile. RBC deformability was measured on whole blood as a function of shear stress in the ektacytometer. Elongation index (EI), the ratio of length to width of the diffraction pattern of deforming cells, was. measured. As analyzed by one-factor ANOVA, maximum elongation index (Elmax), a measure of average deformability of the cell population, was not altered by zinc deficiency. The mean (±SEM) values of Elmax for the three groups were -Zn=0.55 ± 0.01, +ZnPF=0.56 ± 0.01 and +ZnAL=0.56±0.01.
EI was plotted against shear stress and the initial slope of the curve, a measure of membrane deformability, was not changed by zinc deficiency. The mean (±SEM) values of slope for the three groups were -Zn=0.023± 0.002, +ZnPF =0.021 ± 0.001 and +ZnAL=0.051± 0.027. No effect of zinc deficiency was found for deformability of RBC suspensions heated at 48°C for 6 minutes. The results of this study suggest that RBC deformability can not be used as a functional indicator of zinc status.
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Degree
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Department
Nutrition and Dietetics
Program
Nutrition and Dietetics