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This research aims to understand how sickling kinetics affect RBC deformability and hemolysis in different genotypes of sickle cell disease.

December 8, 2025BloodOpen Access

Sickling kinetics drive genotype-specific impairment of RBC deformability in sickle cell disease

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Research demonstrates that sickling kinetics influence RBC deformability and hemolysis in sickle cell disease, suggesting new therapeutic targets.

This research aims to understand how sickling kinetics affect RBC deformability and hemolysis in different genotypes of sickle cell disease.
Developed a microfluidic assay to assess sickling/unsickling dynamics in RBCs from different sickle cell disease genotypes.
Blood samples were collected from patients with HbSS, HbSC, and healthy controls and analyzed for RBC deformability.
Used neural network algorithms to classify sickled versus non-sickled morphologies and measure sickling timelines.
HbSS RBCs sickled faster than HbSC RBCs, indicating genotype-specific differences in behavior.
Repeated hypoxia–reoxygenation cycles significantly decreased RBC deformability and increased hemolysis.
The findings suggest that early sickling behavior is linked to greater occlusion potential in microvascular environments.

Du et al. (2025) studied this question.

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Research demonstrates that sickling kinetics influence RBC deformability and hemolysis in sickle cell disease, suggesting new therapeutic targets.