Capacity for red blood cell aggregation is higher in athletic mammalian species than in sedentary species.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to show that two rheological parameters, red blood cell (RBC) sedimentation rate and apparent blood viscosity at low shear rate, characterizing the degree of RBC aggregation, correlate significantly with the maximal mass-specific rate of oxygen consumption or aerobic capacity (VO2max). Comparisons were made within two groups of similarly sized athletic and sedentary species: group 1, pronghorn antelope, dog, goat, and sheep; and group 2, horse and cow. The pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) is one of the most athletic mammals, and we have obtained data on the rheological properties of blood from this species for the first time. The values of apparent viscosity at hematocrit = 40% and shear rate = 0.277 s-1 measured in a rotational viscometer were 59.5, 42.6, and 9.1 cP for antelope, dog, and sheep blood, respectively, and 55.3 and 11.5 cP for horse and cow blood, respectively. The viscosity values for antelope, dog, and sheep blood can be correlated with aerobic capacity: ln viscosity = 4.48-106.3 VO2(-1)max (r2 = 0.998; P < 0.05). The values of RBC sedimentation rate at hematocrit = 40% were 12.8, 7.0, and 0 mm/h for antelope, dog, and sheep blood, respectively, and 45.3 and 0.1 mm/h for horse and cow blood, respectively. Therefore, the data showed that the athletic species exhibit a consistently higher degree of RBC aggregation than do the corresponding nonathletic species.
Publication Date: 1994-10-01 PubMed ID: 7836201DOI: 10.1152/jappl.1994.77.4.1790Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- U.S. Gov't
- P.H.S.
Summary
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This research studies the relationship between the degree of red blood cell (RBC) aggregation (how closely they clump together) and aerobic capacity (how much oxygen can be consumed during exercise), finding that athletic species of mammals show a higher degree of RBC aggregation compared to sedentary species.
Methodology and Subjects
- The study compared similarly sized pairs of athletic and sedentary species: pronghorn antelope and dog versus goat and sheep in group 1; horse versus cow in group 2.
- The teams also studied pronghorn antelopes, known to be one of the most athletic mammals, for the first time to obtain blood rheological data.
RBC Aggregation and Viscosity Measurements
- The teams measured RBC sedimentation rate and apparent blood viscosity at low shear rate, intending to quantify the degree of RBC aggregation.
- Apparent viscosity, denoting blood’s internal resistance to flow, was measured at a hematocrit (concentration of RBCs in the blood) of 40% and a shear rate (rate of change in velocity at which one layer of fluid passes over an adjacent layer) of 0.277 s-1 in a rotational viscometer.
- Viscosity values for antelope, dog, and sheep’s blood were found to correlate with their respective aerobic capacities.
Results
- The RBC sedimentation rates (how fast the cells sink to the bottom of a tube under the force of gravity) were higher in athletic species (e.g., 12.8 mm/h in antelopes and 7.0 mm/h in dogs) compared to sedentary ones (0 mm/h in sheep).
- Similarly, viscosity measurements showed higher values for athletic species (e.g., 59.5 cP in antelope and 42.6 cP in dogs) compared to sedentary ones (9.1 cP in sheep).
Conclusions
- The findings indicate a link between RBC aggregation and aerobic capacity, with higher RBC aggregation observed in athletic species.
- However, while this association is interesting, the research does not explore or determine the mechanisms or reasons behind this correlation.
Cite This Article
APA
Popel AS, Johnson PC, Kameneva MV, Wild MA.
(1994).
Capacity for red blood cell aggregation is higher in athletic mammalian species than in sedentary species.
J Appl Physiol (1985), 77(4), 1790-1794.
https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.1994.77.4.1790 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Antelopes / blood
- Antelopes / physiology
- Blood Viscosity
- Cattle / blood
- Cattle / physiology
- Dogs / blood
- Dogs / physiology
- Erythrocyte Aggregation / physiology
- Goats / blood
- Goats / physiology
- Hematocrit
- Horses / blood
- Horses / physiology
- Oxygen Consumption
- Sheep / blood
- Sheep / physiology
- Species Specificity
Grant Funding
- HL-17421 / NHLBI NIH HHS
- HL-18292 / NHLBI NIH HHS
Citations
This article has been cited 15 times.- Ramsey SD, Ochoa R, Bauchan G, Gulbronson C, Mowery JD, Cohen A, Lim D, Joklik J, Cicero JM, Ellis JD, Hawthorne D, vanEngelsdorp D. Varroa destructor feeds primarily on honey bee fat body tissue and not hemolymph.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019 Jan 29;116(5):1792-1801.
- Benson BL, Li L, Myers JT, Dorand RD, Gurkan UA, Huang AY, Ransohoff RM. Biomimetic post-capillary venule expansions for leukocyte adhesion studies.. Sci Rep 2018 Jun 19;8(1):9328.
- Bowers ASA, Duncan WW, Pepple DJ. Erythrocyte Aggregation and Blood Viscosity is Similar in Homozygous Sickle Cell Disease Patients with and without Leg Ulcers.. Int J Angiol 2018 Mar;27(1):35-38.
- Plet C, Grice K, Pagès A, Verrall M, Coolen MJL, Ruebsam W, Rickard WDA, Schwark L. Palaeobiology of red and white blood cell-like structures, collagen and cholesterol in an ichthyosaur bone.. Sci Rep 2017 Oct 23;7(1):13776.
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