Expression of CD55 on red blood cells of β-thalassemia patients

CD55 is a complement regulatory protein expressed by cells to protect them from bystander lysis by complement. It prevents the formation of C3/C5 convertase. In β-thalassemia (β-thal), the defective hemoglobin (Hb) production makes red blood cells (RBCs) lyse early and frequently. Loss of CD55 expression in those patients compromises the complement regulatory function, thereby accelerating RBC lysis. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the expression of CD55 on erythrocytes of β-thal patients. Flow cytometry analysis of CD55 was conducted on RBCs of 21 β-thalassemia major (β-TM) patients, 11 β-thalassemia intermedia (β-TI) patients and 10 healthy volunteers. The results showed a significant decrease in CD55 expression in β-TM (57.5 ± 16.7%), while there was a slight decrease in β-TI patients (81.8 ± 3.8%) in comparison with that of the normal controls (88.7 ± 0.8%). The diminished expression of CD55 was not accompanied by decrease in CD59 expression in β-thal patients (97.2 ± 2.3%). This could suggest a mechanism (could be genetic) responsible for low CD55 expression. It may be related to defective Hb genes in thalassemia, but it does not relate to cell membrane changes.