Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 9, 2025
10:07
Immunostaining-Based Detection of Dynamic Alterations in Red Blood Cell Proteins
Published on: March 17, 2023
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Red Blood Cells and Human Aging: Exploring Their Biomarker Potential
Roula P Kyriacou1, Sapha Shibeeb1
1School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, P.O. Box 71, Bundoora, Melbourne, VIC 3083, Australia.
Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 28, 2025
Summary
Red blood cells (RBCs) show age-related changes in their structure and function, offering potential as biomarkers for biological aging. Further research is needed to overcome variability and establish their clinical utility for healthy aging interventions.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Hematology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Aging is a complex biological process leading to physiological decline and increased disease risk.
- Reliable biomarkers are crucial for assessing biological age and guiding healthy aging interventions.
- Red blood cells (RBCs) are abundant, have a finite lifespan, and reflect systemic changes, making them promising aging biomarkers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the potential of RBCs as biomarkers of aging.
- To explore age-associated morphological, functional, and biochemical alterations in RBCs.
- To discuss challenges and future directions for using RBC parameters in aging research.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on RBCs and aging.
- Analysis of age-related changes in RBC count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCV, and RDW.
- Examination of functional alterations like oxygen-carrying capacity, deformability, ATP release, and aggregation.
- Assessment of biochemical changes including membrane composition, fluidity, and antioxidant activity.
Main Results:
- Aging RBCs show reduced RBC count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit, with increased MCV and RDW.
- Functional impairments include decreased oxygen transport, deformability, and increased aggregation.
- Biochemical changes involve altered membrane properties and reduced cellular defense mechanisms.
Conclusions:
- RBCs exhibit significant age-associated alterations, indicating their potential as biomarkers of aging.
- Challenges such as inter-individual variability and storage artifacts need to be addressed.
- Longitudinal studies and mechanistic research are essential to validate RBC parameters for clinical use in aging assessment.
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