Figure 1: Erythrocytes carry mitochondria in mitochondrial DNA mutator mouse. | Nature Communications

Figure 1: Erythrocytes carry mitochondria in mitochondrial DNA mutator mouse.

From: MtDNA mutagenesis impairs elimination of mitochondria during erythroid maturation leading to enhanced erythrocyte destruction

Figure 1

(a) Reticulocyte maturity staged by ribosomal RNA content (thiazole orange) in the peripheral blood at the age of 11 months. Mutator (mut) mice showed an increased proportion of immature reticulocytes (two-tailed P<0.0001, Student’s t-test). Age 6 months: WT n=5, Mutator n=4; age 11 months: WT n=11, Mutator n=11 (30,000 cells per sample were analyzed). (b) Representative FACS plot and (c) quantification of transferrin receptor (TfR) amount and mitochondria (MitoTracker Green) in Mutator erythrocytes at the age of 11 months (two-tailed P<0.0001 and P=0.0059, respectively, Student’s t-test). WT: n=12, Mutator: n=8 (30,000 cells per sample were analyzed). Data are presented as mean±s.d. (d) A representative FACS plot of ribosomes (thiazole orange, TO) and mitochondria (MitoTracker Red); black box: reticulocytes positive for both TO and MTR; red box: abnormal population carrying mitochondria. (e) Electron micrograph of peripheral blood erythrocytes at 8 months of age. WT erythrocytes: biconcave morphology, no organelles; Mutator erythrocytes (three separate figures) contained mitochondria (arrows). WT scale bar, 1 μm, Mutator scale bar, 0.5 μm. See also Supplementary Fig. 1.

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