Red Blood Cell Vitamin C Concentration and Its Effect on Deformability in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease

Authors

Daniel H. Choi, Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Children's National Hospital, George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Pierre-Christian Violet, Molecular and Clinical Nutrition Section, Digestive Disease Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
Suvankar Majumdar, Division of Hematology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's National Hospital, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC.
Mark Levine, Molecular and Clinical Nutrition Section, Digestive Disease Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

10-1-2023

Journal

Journal of pediatric hematology/oncology

Volume

45

Issue

7

DOI

10.1097/MPH.0000000000002631

Abstract

Red cell rigidity is common in sickle cell disease (SCD). The contribution of oxidative stress on deformability remains unknown. This study investigated red blood cell (RBC) vitamin C concentrations in pediatric SCD (n=43) compared with healthy controls ( n =23) and developed a protocol to raise RBC vitamin C concentrations to measure the effect on deformability. Sickle cell RBC vitamin C concentrations seem low (20.5 μM, SD: 16.2 vs. 51.7 μM, SD: 15.8; P <0.0001). Vitamin C can be successfully loaded into sickle cell RBCs but seems to have minimal effect on deformability. Future studies are needed to understand the clinical implications of vitamin C deficiency in pediatric SCD.

APA Citation

Choi, Daniel H.; Violet, Pierre-Christian; Majumdar, Suvankar; and Levine, Mark, "Red Blood Cell Vitamin C Concentration and Its Effect on Deformability in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 3706.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/3706

Department

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences