Studies in erythropoiesis: the influence of the glycocalyx of the red cell membrane

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:6288857

Franco, M W

The possible existence of a correlation between the removal from the circulation of aged cells and the production of new RBCs was investigated. An erythropoietic influence was found to be associated with the glycocalyx of the erythrocyte membrane. The influencing factor, presumably a desialated glycopeptide, asialoglycophorin, appeared to be masked on the young RBC by an amino ketosugar, sialic acid. Ostensibly during the aging process, an increasing amount of sialic acid becomes removed from the membrane to expose the underlying erythropoietic message. Sialic acid was removed enzymatically in vitro from the membranes of erythrocytes by incubation with neuraminidase from Clostridium Perfringens. Erythropoietic activity was assayed by measuring iron-59 uptake after injection or transfusion of test material into exhypoxic mice. The amount of erythropoietic activity was found to be directly related to the number of desialated erythrocytes transfused and to the degree of desialation of the transfused erythrocytes. Asialoglycophorin was shown to be an erythrocyte stimulating factor following its isolation from the membrane and subsequent injection into test mice. Both mouse and human asialoglycophorin were found to be stimulatory.

• Research Organization: North Carolina Univ., Chapel Hill (USA). Dept. of Biochemistry
• DOE Contract Number: AS05-76EV04157
• OSTI ID: 6288857
• Report Number(s): DOE/EV/04157-T3; ON: DE81030668
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
CELL MEMBRANES
RESPONSE MODIFYING FACTORS
MICE
BLOOD FORMATION
AGE DEPENDENCE
ERYTHROCYTES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
IRON 59
PEPTIDES
SIALIC ACID
UPTAKE
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BLOOD
BLOOD CELLS
BODY FLUIDS
CARBOHYDRATES
CELL CONSTITUENTS
DATA
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
INFORMATION
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
IRON ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MAMMALS
MATERIALS
MEMBRANES
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POLYSACCHARIDES
PROTEINS
RADIOISOTOPES
RODENTS
SACCHARIDES
VERTEBRATES
551001* - Physiological Systems- Tracer Techniques