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Nature 432, 964-965 (23 December 2004) | doi:10.1038/432964a; Published online 22 December 2004
Developmental biology: No red cell is an island
James Palis1
Abstract
Red blood cells develop in the bone marrow in 'islands' nurtured by a central white blood cell. Work in mice shows that the retinoblastoma protein is crucial for these white cells to mature and form islands.
As adults, we make more than 2 million red blood cells (erythrocytes) in our bone marrow every second to replace those lost through normal attrition. The mammalian erythrocyte is unique among the blood cells of the animal kingdom because it discards its nucleus (enucleates) and all its internal organelles before entering the circulation.
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RESEARCH
Retinoblastoma promotes definitive erythropoiesis by repressing Id2 in fetal liver macrophagesNature Letters to Editor (23 Dec 2004)