Estrogen modulates microvesicle effects in stored murine whole blood
Lindsey J Wattley1, Greg Wetmore1, Ellen Becker1
1Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH.
Background:
Recent studies suggest that donor sex affects coagulation parameters in whole blood. Additional experiments have examined the effect of storage on the coagulation of whole blood; however, the effects of donor sex on storage-related changes have not been examined. We determined the sex-specific effects of estrogen on microvesicle formation during whole blood storage as well as microvesicle modulation of storage coagulopathy.
Methods:
Whole blood obtained from male and female mice was stored under standard storage conditions or treated with ethinyl estradiol or vehicle (dimethyl sulfoxide) for 10 days. The storage lesion was assessed. Coagulation potential was examined using rotational thromboelastometry. In additional experiments, microvesicles isolated from day 10 whole blood were added to stored whole blood and coagulation was examined.
Results:
After 10 days of storage, several aspects of the storage lesion differ in blood from male, as compared with female, donors. Ethinyl estradiol reduced microvesicle concentration in male blood to levels similar to day 10 female whole blood. On rotational thromboelastometry analysis, the addition of male microvesicles mitigated the storage coagulopathy of female whole blood on nonactivated thromboelastometry and extrinsically activated test.
Conclusions:
Male- and female-stored whole blood differ in aspects of the storage lesion. In stored whole blood, male erythrocytes demonstrate reduced membrane integrity with increased microvesicle shedding. This was ameliorated by blood storage with estrogen. Storage coagulopathy in female blood was lessened by the addition of microvesicles. Our data demonstrate that estrogen and biological sex play a key role in microvesicle production and coagulation potential during whole blood storage.
