RESUMO
Objective To explore the mechanical properties of erythrocytes in the patients with hypertension.Methods Venous blood of 32 patients with hypertension were collected and divided into three groups of H1,H2,and H3 (degree Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ),with 8 cases of healthy adults into a control group.Erythrocytes were isolated,the diameter,height and elastic modulus were detected by the atomic force microscope (AFM).Statistical analysis was carried out.Results The RDW-CV of H2,H3 were much larger than the control group (P＜0.05,P＜0.01);The height of erythrocyte in H2,H3 groups were lower than that of the control group (P＜0.05).The elastic modulus of H 1,H2 groups were larger compared with normal erythrocytes (P＜0.05).Furthermore,erythrocytes elastic modulus correlated with RDW-CV (R2=0.629).Conclusion Hypertension could affect the elasticity modulus of erythrocytes.AFM could be an effective tool in measuring the mechanical characteristics of erythrocytes at single cell level.This study investigates the relationship between hypertension and the structure and function of erythrocytes from a biomechanical aspect.