The maturation of reticulocytes. II. Life-span of red cells originating from stress reticulocytes.

Life-spans of macroreticuloytes and macrocytic red cells were studied. Rabbits were made anemic by injecting phenylhydrazine. Peripheral blood rich in reticulocytes was drawn, labeled with 3H-amino acids, and injected back into the anemic animal. Autoradiographic observation on circulating red cells revealed that macroreticulocytes matured at nearly the same time as normal-sized reticulocytes but that the macrocytic red cells had a short life-span compared to normal-sized red cells.