Role of blood component manufacturing on microvesicle-induced transfusion-related immune modulation

Whole blood donated for transfusion is separated into components (plasma, platelets, red cells) using regulated processes, in an environment highly committed to safety. Despite this, blood transfusions can still lead to adverse reactions in recipients. Acute inflammatory responses create the fundamental condition for most of the symptoms associated with these reactions, which may vary from mild to severe distress, and in the delicate settings of trauma and cardiac surgery, correlate with mortality. Unfortunately, transfusion reactions are not prevented because detail on what causes reactions is not completely understood. Most likely, reactions are multifactorial. In the case of red cell concentrates (RCC), a large body of research has been underscoring the importance of blood cell microvesicles, which are small membrane vesicles that are produced by blood cells as they “grow older” in stored RCCs. Studies on molecular composition show that microvesicles have many potential inflammatory bioactivities; however, little is known about how these bioactivities interact to cause adverse reactions in recipients. The production of microvesicles is preceded by changes to the red cell membrane, and how blood is collected and produced into components has been suggested to be an important determinant of the changes seen in the red blood cell membrane. The overall objective of this proposal is to investigate how the production of blood components can influence the characteristics of RCCs and subsequently impact acute inflammatory events.

ACKER, Jason

University of Alberta

Intramural Research Grant Program

Alberta

$250,660