Assessing the Functional State of Red Blood Cells by Using the Laser Interference Microscopy

The potential of laser interference microscopy was assessed for noninvasive examination of the morphofunctional state of peripheral blood erythrocytes exposed in vitro to adrenaline (10–9 g/mL), cortisol (5 × 10–7 g/mL), propranolol beta-blocker (10–9 g/mL), and glutaraldehyde (0.1%). The content of malondialdehyde, adenosine triphosphoric acid, and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate was determined in erythrocytes. It was found that the optical and geometric characteristics of erythrocytes depended on their structural and functional organization. Enhanced metabolic activity of cells and declined oxidative potential of erythrocytes exposed to cortisol and propranolol were accompanied by a decrease in their phase height by 18 and 29% (p < 0.05) and in the phase diameter by 3 and 5% (p < 0.05), respectively. Decreased metabolic activity and increased oxidative stress upon exposure of red blood cells to adrenaline and glutaraldehyde caused an increase in either the phase height or the phase diameter of these cells. These results demonstrate that laser interference microscopy is suitable for real-time metabolic assessment of the state of living erythrocytes, which increases the informativeness and objectivity of data on the morphological characteristics and functional capabilities of these cells.