Speaker
Description
Sickle cell anaemia is a genetic and molecular disease that affects the structure and dynamics of red blood cells (RBCs), leading to a variety of complications in blood circulation. A single amino-acid mutation in the haemoglobin molecule leads to the polymerization of long, rigid fibres that deform the cell from the inside, affecting its morphology and the blood's rheological properties \cite{eaton_hemoglobin_2020}. The scope of this work is to develop a computational model with a phase-field approach for the RBC membrane deformation time evolution in sickle cell anaemia that considers its Canham-Helfrish bending rigidity \cite{lazaro_collective_2019,lopes_mathematical_2023}. Haemoglobin fibres in the cytoplasm are modelled as a nematic liquid crystal and introduce a phase-field model to simulate how these fibres interact with the cell membrane. With this model we explore systematically the stationary morphology of the RBC as a function of the fibre anchoring angle and characterize the range of angles and nematic liquid crystal parameters \cite{negro_topology_2025,ruske_morphology_2021} that lead to the sickle shape. Moreover, analysing the dynamics of RBCs acquiring the sickle morphology can give us important insights on how the RBCs are deformed as they transverse the narrower capillaries in the organism.
Bibliography
@article{lopes_mathematical_2023,
title = {A mathematical model of fibrinogen-mediated erythrocyte–erythrocyte adhesion},
volume = {6},
issn = {2399-3642},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-04560-4},
doi = {10.1038/s42003-023-04560-4},
abstract = {Abstract
Erythrocytes are deformable cells that undergo progressive biophysical and biochemical changes affecting the normal blood flow. Fibrinogen, one of the most abundant plasma proteins, is a primary determinant for changes in haemorheological properties, and a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In this study, the adhesion between human erythrocytes is measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and its effect observed by micropipette aspiration technique, in the absence and presence of fibrinogen. These experimental data are then used in the development of a mathematical model to examine the biomedical relevant interaction between two erythrocytes. Our designed mathematical model is able to explore the erythrocyte–erythrocyte adhesion forces and changes in erythrocyte morphology. AFM erythrocyte–erythrocyte adhesion data show that the work and detachment force necessary to overcome the adhesion between two erythrocytes increase in the presence of fibrinogen. The changes in erythrocyte morphology, the strong cell-cell adhesion and the slow separation of the two cells are successfully followed in the mathematical simulation. Erythrocyte-erythrocyte adhesion forces and energies are quantified and matched with experimental data. The changes observed on erythrocyte–erythrocyte interactions may give important insights about the pathophysiological relevance of fibrinogen and erythrocyte aggregation in hindering microcirculatory blood flow.},
language = {en},
number = {1},
urldate = {2026-03-15},
journal = {Communications Biology},
author = {Lopes, Catarina S. and Curty, Juliana and Carvalho, Filomena A. and Hernández-Machado, A. and Kinoshita, Koji and Santos, Nuno C. and Travasso, Rui D. M.},
month = feb,
year = {2023},
pages = {192},
}
@article{negro_topology_2025,
title = {Topology controls flow patterns in active double emulsions},
volume = {16},
issn = {2041-1723},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56236-8},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-025-56236-8},
language = {en},
number = {1},
urldate = {2026-03-15},
journal = {Nature Communications},
author = {Negro, Giuseppe and Head, Louise C. and Carenza, Livio N. and Shendruk, Tyler N. and Marenduzzo, Davide and Gonnella, Giuseppe and Tiribocchi, Adriano},
month = feb,
year = {2025},
pages = {1412},
}
@article{lazaro_collective_2019,
title = {Collective behavior of red blood cells in confined channels},
volume = {42},
issn = {1292-8941, 1292-895X},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1140/epje/i2019-11805-0},
doi = {10.1140/epje/i2019-11805-0},
language = {en},
number = {4},
urldate = {2026-03-15},
journal = {The European Physical Journal E},
author = {Lázaro, Guillermo R. and Hernández-Machado, Aurora and Pagonabarraga, Ignacio},
month = apr,
year = {2019},
pages = {46},
}
@article{eaton_hemoglobin_2020,
title = {Hemoglobin {S} polymerization and sickle cell disease: {A} retrospective on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of {Pauling}'s \textit{{Science}} paper},
volume = {95},
issn = {0361-8609, 1096-8652},
shorttitle = {Hemoglobin {S} polymerization and sickle cell disease},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajh.25687},
doi = {10.1002/ajh.25687},
abstract = {Abstract
70 years ago, Linus Pauling, the legendary genius of 20
th
century chemistry, published his famous work on the molecular cause of sickle cell disease, a paper that gave birth to what is now called molecular medicine. In this paper, Pauling left important questions unanswered that have motivated an enormous amount of scientific and clinical research since then. This retrospective discusses the basic science studies that have answered those questions directly related to the kinetics and thermodynamics of hemoglobin S polymerization.},
language = {en},
number = {2},
urldate = {2026-03-15},
journal = {American Journal of Hematology},
author = {Eaton, William A.},
month = feb,
year = {2020},
pages = {205--211},
}
@article{ruske_morphology_2021,
title = {Morphology of {Active} {Deformable} {3D} {Droplets}},
volume = {11},
issn = {2160-3308},
url = {https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevX.11.021001},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevX.11.021001},
language = {en},
number = {2},
urldate = {2026-03-15},
journal = {Physical Review X},
author = {Ruske, Liam J. and Yeomans, Julia M.},
month = apr,
year = {2021},
pages = {021001},
}
