Streekstra, G. J. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2025

Choice of lipid supplementation for in vitro erythroid cell culture impacts reticulocyte yield and characteristics

Lipids, particularly cholesterol, are critical components of red blood cell (RBC) membranes, influencing protein function, cell stability, and deformability. Reticulocytes (young RBC) derived from in vitro erythroid cultures have been reported to possess less cholesterol than their native counterparts, compromising their functional integrity and lifespan. However, variability in starting materials and culture protocols between studies has hindered deQnitive conclusions regarding the nature and consequences of this lipid deQciency. Here, we evaluated the influence of lipid sources on reticulocyte quality using a well-established CD34 erythroid culture system. We compared the use of human AB-serum and Octaplas (solvent/detergent-treated pooled plasma) as lipid sources. Our results reveal that detergent-treated plasma leads to cholesterol-deQcient reticulocytes with impaired characteristics, including reduced Qltration yield, heightened osmotic fragility, and altered PIEZO1 activity. In contrast, AB-serum supported the generation of functionally stable reticulocytes, with cholesterol supplementation required to rescue the defects observed with plasma. Importantly, this study provides the Qrst integrated lipidomic, metabolomic, and proteomic characterisation of in vitro-derived reticulocytes cultured under distinct lipid conditions. These multi-omic datasets offer new insights into the consequences of reduced lipid availability during erythroid culture and offer new insights into how culture media affects the development and functionality of lab grown blood.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Complete absence of GLUT1 does not impair human terminal erythroid differentiation

The Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) is one of the most abundant proteins within the erythrocyte membrane and is required for glucose and dehydroascorbic acid (Vitamin C precursor) transport. It is widely recognized as a key protein for red cell structure, function, and metabolism. Previous reports highlighted the importance of GLUT1 activity within these uniquely glycolysis-dependent cells, in particular for increasing antioxidant capacity needed to avoid irreversible damage from oxidative stress in humans. However, studies of glucose transporter roles in erythroid cells are complicated by species-specific differences between humans and mice. Here, using CRISPR-mediated gene editing of immortalized erythroblasts and adult CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells, we generate committed human erythroid cells completely deficient in expression of GLUT1. We show that absence of GLUT1 does not impede human erythroblast proliferation, differentiation, or enucleation. This work demonstrates for the first-time generation of enucleated human reticulocytes lacking GLUT1. The GLUT1-deficient reticulocytes possess no tangible alterations to membrane composition or deformability in reticulocytes. Metabolomic analyses of GLUT1-deficient reticulocytes reveal hallmarks of reduced glucose import, downregulated metabolic processes and upregulated AMPK-signalling, alongside alterations in antioxidant metabolism, resulting in increased osmotic fragility and metabolic shifts indicative of higher oxidant stress. Despite detectable metabolic changes in GLUT1 deficient reticulocytes, the absence of developmental phenotype, detectable proteomic compensation or impaired deformability comprehensively alters our understanding of the role of GLUT1 in red blood cell structure, function and metabolism. It also provides cell biological evidence supporting clinical consensus that reduced GLUT1 expression does not cause anaemia in GLUT1 deficiency syndrome. Key PointsO_LIGLUT1 knockout does not affect erythroid differentiation and minimally impacts reticulocyte membrane composition C_LIO_LIMetabolic adaptation facilitates reticulocyte tolerance of GLUT1 absence C_LI

cell biology↗