Erythrophagocytosis in the Liver in Hemolytic Anemias

Hemolytic anemias were produced in rats by administering phenylhydrazine or anti-erythrocytic (rooster) serum, the latter having agglutinin and hemolysin titers exceeding 1:1000.Following administration of phenylhydrazine, the erythrocytes undergo oxidative damage and are removed from the circulation by the cells of the reticulo-endothelial system, predominantly by the spleen. With increasing dosage or if animals are splenectomized, the Kupffer cells become an important site of sequestration and are greatly hypertrophied. Whole red cells are the most common type engulfed; they are broken down in digestive vacuoles, as shown by the presence of acid phosphatase activity (Fig. 1). Heinz body material and membranes persist longer than native hemoglobin. With larger doses of phenylhydrazine, erythrocytes undergo intravascular fragmentation, and the particles phagocytized are now mainly red cell fragments of varying sizes (Fig. 2).