Discrete responses of erythrocytes, platelets, and von Willebrand factor to shear

Chan, C., Simmonds, M. J., Fraser, K. H., Igarashi, K., Ki, K. K., Murashige, T., Joseph, M. T., Fraser, J. F., Tansley, G. D., & Watanabe, N. Journal of biomechanics DOI_10.1016/j.jbiomech.2021.110898

Abstract: Despite decades of technological advancements in blood-contacting medical devices, complications related to shear flow-induced blood trauma are still frequently observed in clinic. Blood trauma includes haemolysis, platelet activation, and degradation of High Molecular Weight von Willebrand Factor (HMW vWF) multimers, all of which are dependent on the exposure time and magnitude of shear stress. Specifically, accumulating evidence supports that when blood is exposed to shear stresses above a certain threshold, blood trauma ensues; however, it remains unclear how various constituents of blood are affected by discrete shears experimentally. The aim of this study was to expose blood to discrete shear stresses and evaluate blood trauma indices that reflect red cell, platelet, and vWF structure.