ИСТИНА

Red blood cells (RBC) play a variety of roles in human body. Besides gas exchange function there are roles in immune response and hemostasis [1]. One of the important properties of RBC is their spontaneous aggregation, i.e. ability to reversibly form linear or more complex aggregates. RBC aggregation significantly impacts blood rheology by changing the blood viscosity and its alterations in some diseases may cause pathological complications [2]. RBC aggregation depends on different factors: from blood plasma osmolarity to protein concentration. One of these factors is the concentration of signaling molecules in the blood flow. Nitric oxide (NO) is a signaling molecule from gasotransmitters class. Its main target in blood flow are smooth muscle cells, NO causes vasorelaxation and systemic decrease in arterial pressure. The main sources of nitric oxide in the blood flow are endothelial cells, that produce NO from L-arginine by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). There is evidence of NO changing RBC properties, in particular, their deformability and aggregability [3].