Glucagon and noradrenaline reduce erythrocyte deformability

An impairment in red blood cell (RBC) deformability has been reported in several diseases and might be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to test in vitro the effect of two "stress hormones," norepinephrine and glucagon, on the filterability of RBCs from healthy subjects. Measurements were performed with the Hanss hemorrheometer, and results were expressed as the rigidity index (RI). All concentrations of norepinephrine from 10(-7) to 10(-4) mol/L induced a significant increase in RI compared with Hanks buffer, with the maximal effect being reached using 10(-6) mol/L. All concentrations of glucagon from 0.01 to 5 ng/mL also induced a significant increase in RI, with the maximal effect being achieved using 1 ng/mL. These data suggest that these two stress hormones could be involved in the rheologic impairments found in several diseases and therefore in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.