The physical and chemical state of blood leukocyte membranes in patients with acuteischemic stroke depends on the severity of the disease

This article uses various membrane-tropic fluorescent probes to analyze the physicochemical state of phospholipid bilayers in the membranes of peripheral blood leukocytes in healthy individuals and patients with acute ischemic stroke. The severity of the disease is determined by the National (U.S.) Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). For the study, blood leukocyte suspensions were used from individuals in good health and 18 patients with acute ischemic stroke. The control group consisted of 18 healthy individuals. Patients with acute ischemic stroke were divided into three groups based on the severity of their clinical symptoms, as measured by the NIHSS scale. The first group included six patients with mild disease (scoring 1–5 points); the second group included seven patients with moderate disease (scoring 6–16 points); and the third group included six patients with severe disease (scoring 14–20 points). Leukocyte suspensions were prepared from the whole blood of healthy individuals and patients with acute ischemic stroke by lysing the erythrocytes. At the Research Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine of the Kharkiv National Medical University, we determined the structural and functional state of the phospholipid bilayer of blood leukocyte cytoplasmic membranes using the following membrane-tropic fluorescent probes O6O, O1O, PH7, and PH1. The results of the study indicate that, depending on the severity of the disease according to the NIHSS scale, changes occur in the structural and functional state of the lipid components of peripheral blood leukocyte cytoplasmic membranes in patients with acute ischemic stroke. In particular, there is a decrease in phospholipid order and an increase in cell structure fluidity. These physicochemical changes may contribute to cell death. Keywords: NIHSS scale, phospholipid bilayer membranes, leukocytes, fluorescent probes.