• Binglan Yu, Chong Lei, David M Baron, Andrea U Steinbicker, Kenneth D Bloch, and Warren M Zapol.
• Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
• Transfusion. 2012 Jul 1;52(7):1410-22.

BackgroundStored red blood cells (RBCs) undergo progressive deleterious functional, biochemical, and structural changes. The mechanisms responsible for the adverse effects of transfusing stored RBCs remain incompletely elucidated.Study Design And MethodsAwake wild-type (WT) mice, WT mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD-fed WT) for 4 to 6 weeks, and diabetic (db/db) mice were transfused with syngeneic leukoreduced RBCs or supernatant with or without oxidation (10% of total blood volume) after storage for not more than 24 hours (FRBCs) or 2 weeks (SRBCs). Inhaled nitric oxide (NO) at 80 parts per million was administered to a group of mice transfused with SRBCs. Blood and tissue samples were collected 2 hours after transfusion to measure iron and cytokine levels.ResultsSRBCs had altered RBC morphology and a reduced P(50) . Transfusion of SRBCs into WT or HFD-fed WT mice did not produce systemic hemodynamic changes. In contrast, transfusion of SRBCs or supernatant from SRBCs into db/db mice induced systemic hypertension that was prevented by concurrent inhalation of NO. Infusion of washed SRBCs or oxidized SRBC supernatant into db/db mice did not induce hypertension. Two hours after SRBC transfusion, plasma hemoglobin (Hb), interleukin-6, and serum iron levels were increased.ConclusionTransfusion of syngeneic SRBCs or the supernatant from SRBCs produces systemic hypertension and vasoconstriction in db/db mice. It is likely that RBC storage, by causing in vitro hemolysis and posttransfusion hemoglobinemia, produces sustained NO scavenging and vasoconstriction in mice with endothelial dysfunction. Vasoconstriction is prevented by oxidizing the supernatant of SRBCs or breathing NO during SRBC transfusion.© 2012 American Association of Blood Banks.

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