Aging of human mature erythrocytes is like a process of apoptosis in enucleated cell.
Apoptosis of nucleated cells is well known, but how about the unnucleated cells is still not elucidated. In the present paper, the morphological and biochemical features of the aged erythrocytes were observed and compared with the characteristic events of apoptosis. Membrane of aged erythrocytes tends to shrink, protrude, from vesicle and lose lipid asymmetry. Aged erythrocytes were removed by phagocytosis. Both of the events are very similar to the apoptotic nucleated cells. The authors suggested that aging of erythrocytes is also a process of apoptosis.
Pan
H
H
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, CAMS & PUMC, Beijing 100005.
Feng
L
L
Lu
H
H
Xu
C
C
Zhang
P
P
Zhang
Z
Z
D017209:Apoptosis; D004905:Erythrocyte Aging; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines / Q000378:metabolism; D010718:Phosphatidylserines / Q000378:metabolism
D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines; D010718:Phosphatidylserines