Immune elimination of autologous senescent erythrocytes by Kupffer cells in vivo.

It has been shown previously that autologous monocytes recognize and phagocytose aging self-erythrocytes in vitro. The recognition requires the presence of an autoantibody present in all normal serum. Herein a similar mechanism of recognition and immune elimination of senescent erythrocytes in vivo is reported. When autologous rabbit red blood cells (RBCs), aged either in vivo or neuraminidase-treated young, were reinjected into the animal, most of the old RBCs were trapped in the liver while the majority of the young cells lodged in the spleen. Following reinjection of aging RBCs, the activity of microsomal heme oxygenase enzyme of the liver tissue increased greater than fourfold, suggesting erythrophagocytosis activity of Kupffer cells.