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Red cell charge is not a function of cell age

Nature volume 269, pages 719–721 (1977)Cite this article

Abstract

REPORTS1,2 that the oldest circulating human erythrocytes have an electrophoretic mobility up to 30% lower than the youngest cells have been widely accepted, particularly since such findings suggest a plausible mechanism for the removal of the oldest cells from circulation. For those studies1,2 the red cells were separated on the basis of age by using the accepted relationship that older cells are denser on the average than younger cells. We report here that electrophoretic mobility studies conducted independently by conventional electrophoresis, streak width measurements and electrophoretic light scattering have shown the mobilities to be the same for red cell fractions of differing density and hence age in vivo. These data suggest that hypotheses which invoke a role for decreasing surface charge density in the mechanism of senescent red cell recognition in vivo are unsound.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of California at Los Angeles, Center for the Health Sciences, Los Angeles, California, 90024

    S. J. LUNER & DOROTHY SZKLAREK

  2. Department of Neurology, University of Oregon Health Sciences Center, Portland, Oregon, 97201

    R. J. KNOX & G. V. F. SEAMAN

  3. Department of Chemistry, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138

    J. Y. JOSEFOWICZ & B. R. WARE

Authors
  1. S. J. LUNER
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  2. DOROTHY SZKLAREK
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  3. R. J. KNOX
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  4. G. V. F. SEAMAN
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  5. J. Y. JOSEFOWICZ
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  6. B. R. WARE
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LUNER, S., SZKLAREK, D., KNOX, R. et al. Red cell charge is not a function of cell age. Nature 269, 719–721 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269719a0

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