Failure of red blood cell maturation in mice with defects in the high-density lipoprotein receptor SR-BI

Mammalian erythrocytes undergo a unique maturation process in which they discard their nuclei and organelles and assume a flexible biconcave shape. We found that altered plasma lipoprotein metabolism can profoundly influence these events. Abnormal erythrocyte morphology was observed in hypercholesterolemic mice lacking the high-density lipoprotein receptor SR-BI. This was exacerbated by feeding mice a high-cholesterol diet or, more …