On the Application of Polymer Microspheres to Identify Positively and Negatively Charged Extracellular Traps of Blood Cells

At present, there is every reason to assume that ETosis by various blood cells leads to the formation of different types of extracellular traps (ETs), the biological functions and clearance of which are apparently not the same. The results of in vitro model experiments to create DNA–histone networks at different DNA : histone ratios allow us to propose a method using polymer microspheres with surface amino (PMS⁺) and carboxyl (PMS^–) groups as sorbents for the isolation from whole blood and quantification of oppositely charged ETs. Quantitative analysis of the interaction of blood ETs with PMS⁺ and PMS^– shows that the total number of ETs adsorbed on PMS⁺ and PMS^– is significantly increased in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus and polyneuropathy compared to healthy volunteers. Moreover, a significant predominance of ETs adsorbed on PMS⁺ is associated with microalbuminuria. The obtained data suggest that the proposed approach could be promising for application in both fundamental research and clinical practice.