We studied the nature of enucleated RBCs containing DNA remnants, Howell-Jolly (HJ) RBCs and reticulocytes (retics), that are\r\ncharacteristically present in the circulation of thalassemic patients, especially after splenectomy. Using flow cytometry methodology,\r\nwe measured oxidative status parameters of these cells in patients with �Ÿ-thalassemia. In each patient studied, these cells had\r\nhigher content of reactive oxygen species and exposed phosphatidylserine compared with their DNA-free counterparts. These results\r\nsuggest that oxidative stress in thalassemic developing erythroid precursors might, through DNA-breakage, generate HJ-retics\r\nand HJ-RBCs and that oxidative stress-induced externalization of phosphatidylserine is involved in the removal of these cells from\r\nthe circulation by the spleen, a mechanism similar to that of the removal of senescent RBCs.
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