Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026
06:36
An Ex vivo Model of an Oligodendrocyte-directed T-Cell Attack in Acute Brain Slices
Published on: February 5, 2015
[Functional activity of cell membranes in multiple sclerosis]
Zhurnal Nevropatologii I Psikhiatrii Imeni S.S. Korsakova (Moscow, Russia : 1952)
|January 1, 1991
Summary
Multiple sclerosis patients show abnormal red blood cell membrane changes. Specific temperature-induced structural transformations in these membranes offer potential diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
- Neurology
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves complex pathogenesis with potential membrane abnormalities.
- Red blood cell (RBC) membranes can serve as a model for studying cellular changes in neurological disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between plasma membrane enzyme activity (Na+,K+-ATPase and AChE) and RBC suspension viscosity in multiple sclerosis patients.
- To identify temperature-induced structural transformations in RBC membranes and assess their clinical significance in MS.
Main Methods:
- Utilized interferometry and capillary viscosimetry to analyze RBC membranes from 100 multiple sclerosis patients.
- Examined enzyme activity and viscosity across a range of physiological temperatures.
Main Results:
- Identified two distinct temperature areas (around 35°C and 40°C) exhibiting specific enzyme and viscosity changes.
- Observed complex structural transformations in RBC membranes, indicating significant membrane imbalance.
- These findings suggest a membrano-patho-chemical component in MS pathogenesis.
Conclusions:
- Temperature-induced structural transformations in RBC membranes are linked to multiple sclerosis.
- These transformations have clinical importance for estimating disease activity.
- RBC membrane abnormalities may reflect broader membrane pathology, including in oligodendrocytes.
- The identified temperature-dependent changes serve as potential diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis.
Related Concept Videos
01:54What are Membranes?
A key characteristic of life is the ability to separate the external environment from the internal space. To do this, cells have evolved semi-permeable membranes that regulate the passage of biological molecules. Additionally, the cell membrane defines a cell’s shape and interactions with the external environment. Eukaryotic cell membranes also serve to compartmentalize the internal space into organelles, including the endomembrane structures of the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi...
01:23Membrane Fluidity
Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.Fatty acids tails of phospholipids can be either saturated or...
01:24What are Membranes?
A cell's plasma membrane demarcates the cell's borders and determines the nature of its interaction with the environment. Cells exclude certain substances, take in others, and excrete some others in controlled quantities. The plasma membrane must be flexible to allow certain cells, such as red and white blood cells, to change their shape while passing through narrow capillaries. These are the more obvious plasma membrane functions. In addition, the plasma membrane's surface carries markers that...
01:26Membrane Fluidity
Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is a relatively...
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is a relatively...
01:35Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
Biological membranes show uneven distribution of different types of lipids in the inner and outer layers, resulting in transverse asymmetric membranes. The treatment of the erythrocyte membrane with the enzyme phospholipase confirmed the asymmetric nature of the lipid bilayer. The enzyme hydrolyzes lipids into fatty acids and hydrophilic groups. The phospholipase acts only on the outer layer of the membrane, while the inner layer remains intact. The phospholipase treatment resulted in 80%...
01:19Multiple Sclerosis l: Introduction
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that affects the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. It is an inflammatory demyelinating disorder and a leading cause of neurological disability in young adults.EpidemiologyMS commonly begins between 20 and 40 years of age and is twice as common in women. Its exact cause remains unclear, but genetic susceptibility contributes, with higher risk in first-degree relatives and identical twins. A greater...