Conformational Distortions of the Red Blood Cell Spectrin Matrix Nanostructure in Response to Temperature Changes In Vitro

Figure 2

Spectrin matrix. (a) Schematic representation of the extracellular membrane surface (arrow A), a dashed line (ZZ) indicates the centre of the membrane. (b) Schematic representation of the inner membrane surface (arrow B) and shifted layer (arrow D). (c) AFM 2D image of the RBC spectrin matrix, , obtained with optimised preparation parameters: 300 μL distilled H₂O and centrifugation at 3,000 rpm. (d) AFM 2D image of the RBC spectrin matrix, , obtained with 500 μL distilled H₂O and centrifugation at 3,000 rpm. (e) AFM 2D image of the RBC spectrin matrix on the cytoplasmic membrane surface, , obtained with 300 μL distilled H₂O and centrifugation at 12,000 rpm. (f–h) Height profiles of the corresponding sections in (c–e). (i–k) Percentage of spectrin network surfaces containing elements <250 nm and > 250 nm, as well as with an undeveloped spectrin network as determined in (c–e, m). (l–m) Percentage of spectrin network on the extracellular membrane surface and with removed or shifted layer: (l) corresponds to (e), and (m) corresponds to (c, d). The dashed line from (b) to (e) delineates the extracellular and inner membrane surfaces. Experimental data are shown as .