Alterations in hemorheological properties of erythrocytes in nude mice with erythroleukemia and the treatment effects of etoposide

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the changes of hemorheological properties of erythrocytes in the nude mice with erythroleukemia and the treatment effects of etoposide (VP16). Thirty mice were randomly divided into three groups: the control group (C group), injected with 1 ml saline solution, the MEL group (M group) injected with 1 ml MEL (murine erythroleukemia cell line) and the MEL + VP16 group (V group) injected with 1 ml MEL and from the 8th day after injection, 20 μl VP16 (1 μg/μl) was injected intraperitoneally every five days. One week after MEL injection, erythroblastic cells increased in the bone marrow and proerythroblasts were found in the peripheral blood, suggesting that erythroleukemia was induced. Abnormalities were also found in spleens and livers later. At around twenty days after injection, the mice in M group died and about four weeks after injection, the mice in V group also died. Compared with C group, the hemorheological indexes [the deformation index DI, orientation index (DI_or), and the small deformation index (DI_d)], electrophoretic mobility, membrane fluidity as well as osmotic fragility of red blood cells (RBC) in M and V groups changed significantly. But after VP16 administration, the changes of above parameters in V group were less significant than those of M group. The results above suggested that intraperitoneal injection of MEL cells could cause erythroleukemia in nude mice, VP16 could alleviate the erythroleukemia symptom and improve the hemorheological properties, and could prolong V group nude mice survival.