title: Anomalous erythrocytes produced by rabbits with liver damage.
abstract: Rabbit "stress macroreticulocytes" complete their membrane sialic acid content after a short "homing" in the liver. Since also normal rabbit reticulocytes are characterized by a low membrane sialic acid, the role of the liver in the maturation of these cells was investigated. For this purpose red cell modifications consequent to a severe liver steatosis, induced in rabbits by a diet lacking choline, were investigated. Animals with liver damage showed severe anemia and red cell membranes were demonstrated to have a low sialic acid content. Moreover rabbits with severe fatty liver, unlike normal animals, were not able to restore the viability of desialylated normal young erythrocytes. On the basis of these and others evidences we suggest that rabbit liver plays an important role in physiological maturation of reticulocytes.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000502:physiology; D002796:Choline Deficiency / Q000503:physiopathology; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D009439:Neuraminidase / Q000494:pharmacology; D011817:Rabbits; D012156:Reticulocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D012794:Sialic Acids; D009439:Neuraminidase