Calcium (Ca2+) is a universal signalling molecule and is critically important in regulating many physiological functions and survival of RBCs. Amongst others, intracellular Ca2+ controls cell volume and deformability. This process plays a substantial role in RBCs since their volume needs to adapt when passing blood vessel constrictions during the flow. Excessive Ca2+ uptake also leads to accelerated cell clearance causing anaemia.
Therefore, studying Ca2+ regulation is crucial to understand RBC diseases. Piezo1, KCa3.1 (Gardos channel) and NMDA receptors are three channels present in the RBC membrane and critical for Ca2+ regulation.
We developed functional assays to measure these channels in healthy and diseased RBCs populations using electrophysiological tools, contributing to the characterization of RBC diseases.