Hemoglobinopathies

Researchers from Duke Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center and Duke University School of Medicine note that compromise of the sickle red blood cell (RBC) redox state results from a prooxidant-antioxidant imbalance. They explain how oxidative stress causing phenotypic modifications of RBCs translates to a constellation of physiologic changes with multisystem manifestations that can sometimes lead to organ damage. In their review, the authors discuss the critical role of sickle RBC production of reactive oxygen species, and regulation of this process in the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease.