Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 Aug 1;98(3):860-7.
doi: 10.1182/blood.v98.3.860.

Characterization of the phosphatidylserine-exposing subpopulation of sickle cells

K de Jong  1 , S K Larkin, L A Styles, R M Bookchin, F A Kuypers
Affiliations
Free article

Characterization of the phosphatidylserine-exposing subpopulation of sickle cells

K de Jong et al. Blood. .
Free article

Abstract

Phosphatidylserine (PS), exclusively present in the inner monolayer of the normal red blood cell (RBC) membrane, is exposed in subpopulations of sickle cells. PS-exposing RBCs were found predominantly among the densest and the very light sickle cells. Within the light RBC fraction, PS exposure was found on reticulocytes, transferrin receptor-expressing reticulocytes, and mature RBCs. The last subset contained low-density valinomycin-resistant RBCs, previously shown to have high Na(+) and low K(+) content. This subpopulation contained the highest percentage of PS-exposing cells. The PS-exposing sickle cells did not show the sustained high cytosolic Ca(++) levels that have been shown to activate scramblase activity. Data from this study indicate that PS exposure can occur at different stages in the life of the sickle RBC and that it correlates with the loss of aminophospholipid translocase activity, the only common denominator of the PS-exposing cells. The additional requirement of scramblase activation may occur during transient increases in cytosolic Ca(++). (Blood. 2001;98:860-867)

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms