Biochemical and Biophysical Properties of Red Blood Cells

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to announce that we have opened a Special Topic dedicated to novel studies of biochemical and biophysical properties of red blood cells (RBC) in disease. The most abundant body cell type, red blood cells, is exceptional due to several unique morphological, hemodynamic, and even metabolic characteristics. The unique properties of the RBC membrane and cytoskeleton components, as well as the molecular interactions and regulation of hemoglobin and other cytosolic molecules, precisely determine their unique functionality in the transport of respiratory gases and physiological regulations. It is clear that under numerous inherited and pathological conditions (e.g., congenital hemoglobinopathies, cardiovascular and metabolic abnormalities, infections) and under aging (in vivo and during storage), RBCs' biochemical and biophysical features can be drastically altered. These aspects are at the top of dynamic, interdisciplinary, and multifaceted RBC research. Here, we collect new investigations addressing biochemical, biophysical, and physiological aspects of RBCs in different pathological states in the current topic. State-of-the-art novel findings pertaining to the interaction of erythrocytes with external factors and implications of this exposure in health will be welcome. These issues can be discussed from an experimental, clinical, or numerical point of view.

Dr. Leonid Livshits
Dr. Gregory Barshtein
Topic Editors