Abstract
Summary
When incubated with rat RBC in vitro, or following direct intravenous injection, 14C-cyanate is firmly bound to RBC of all ages. Red blood cell lifespan can be determined by following circulating RBC hemoglobin specific activity, yielding a value of 56-58 days for the mean lifespan, in agreement with that obtained from cohort studies. Similarly, mean potential lifespan (time of senescent death) and rate of random hemolysis were similar to that noted after cohort labeling. It is concluded that 14C-cyanate is an excellent noneluting random label for RBC survival studies.
The author gratefully acknowledges a timely conversation with Dr. Frank A. Oski, which prompted the present study. This work was supported, in part, by a Career Development Award (5K4-HL-17693-03), from the National Heart and Lung Institute, National Institutes of Health.
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