Abstract
ALTHOUGH the mechanism with which red blood cells maintain their biconcave shape has been studied by a number of investigators, it has not yet been clarified. Some twenty years ago Furchgott and Ponder1 proposed the existence of an antisphering factor in the blood plasma, but later Ponder2 himself cast doubt on this. More recently, Prankerd3 suggested that the red cell envelope might possess certain contractile properties dependent upon a continuous regeneration of adenosine triphosphate, according to the evidence that incorporation of phosphorus-32 is low in the esters of the stroma obtained from those species with spheroidal red cells or from patients with hereditary spherocytosis. However, no detailed experiment on the shape of the cells has been reported by Prankerd or by others.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Furchgott, R. F., and Ponder, E., J. Exp. Biol., 17, 117 (1940).
Ponder, E., Blood, 9, 227 (1954).
Prankerd, T. A. J., Biochem. J., 58, 622 (1954).
Nakao, M., Nakao, T., Tatibana, M., Yoshikawa, H., and Abe, T., Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 32, 564 (1959); J. Biochem. (Japan).
Fiske, C. H., and Subbarow, Y., J. Biol. Chem., 66, 375 (1925).
Cohn, W. E., and Carter, C. E., J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 72, 4273 (1950).
Bishop, C., Rankine, D. M., and Talbott, J. H., J. Biol. Chem., 234, 1223 (1959).
Tatibana, T., Nakao, M., and Yoshikawa, H., J. Biochem. (Japan), 31, 679 (1959).
Nakao, M., Nakao, T., Tatibana, M., and Yoshikawa, H., J. Biochem. (Japan), 47, 694 (1960).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
NAKAO, M., NAKAO, T. & YAMAZOE, S. Adenosine Triphosphate and Maintenance of Shape of the Human Red Cells. Nature 187, 945–946 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/187945a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/187945a0
This article is cited by
-
Polymer nanoarchitectonics for synthetic vesicles with human erythrocyte-like morphology transformation
Colloid and Polymer Science (2022)
-
The Role of Cytoskeleton of a Red Blood Cell in Its Deformability
Journal of the Indian Institute of Science (2021)
-
In vitro quality control analysis after processing and during storage of feline packed red blood cells units
BMC Veterinary Research (2018)
-
Equilibrium physics breakdown reveals the active nature of red blood cell flickering
Nature Physics (2016)
-
The clinical importance of erythrocyte deformability, a hemorrheological parameter
Annals of Hematology (1992)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.