#OPENACCESS: Imagine a leaky house where the pumps never stop running. In sickle cells, hyperactive Piezo1 channels increase ion leaks and force cells to burn more fuel (lactate), revealing a hidden metabolic cost of mechanical stress.
Sickle cell disease, a highly debilitating disease affecting millions worldwide, is caused by the homozygous inheritance of the mutant hemoglobin S (HbS), a malaria-stabilized gene conferring…
