Cesium's Affects on Morphological Changes of Human Erythrocytes

Abstract

Cesium could play a toxic role in several pathological processes. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study morphological changes of human erythrocytes after incubating with different concentrations of CsCl, and the Raman spectra were used to study the effects of CsCl on the chemistry components of erythrocyte membrane. The AFM images showed that the "domain structures" that appeared after incubation with higher concentration of CsCl (150 mmol·L−1), are featured by the particles aggregated to form ranges and the separations among them enlarged to gorges, and this change may increase the permeability of cell membranes. The Raman results showed that the polar part of membrane phospholipid become more order and with the increasing of the concentration of CsCl, the longitudinal order of nonpolar parts first decreased and then increased. It is concluded that the aggregation of membrane proteins and the order changes of the phospholipid cause a change in the distribution and conformation of the phospholipid membrane. And the effects of CsCl on the erythrocyte membrane are mainly dependent on its concentration.