Study on tumor necrosis factor-α induced eryptosis

Objective To investigate the role of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) on eryptosis.Methods Erythrocytes isolated from mice were put under the treatment of TNF-α at the dose of 1ng/ml for 6,12,24,48 and 72 h,or at different concentrations of 0.1,1 and 10 ng/ml for 24 h.The forward scatter (FSC),phosphatidylserine (PS)exposure and ceramide formation were determined by flow cytometry.Results Compared to control group,the decrease of FSC ((81.5 ± 1.02)％ vs (87.6 ± 0.55)％,P＜0.05),the increasment of membrane PS exposure level and ceramide content ((5.5±1.07)％ vs (2.7±0.17)％,(2.1±0.23)％ vs (0.7±0.26)％,P＜0.01) were observed in erythrocyte under the treatment of TNF-α for 24 h with more obvious tendency over time.Conclusions TNF-α can trigger cell shrinkage,and promote PS exposure and ceramide formation on the membrane of erythrocyte. Key words: Tumor necrosis factor-α;  Erythrocyte;  Eryptosis