Administration of antibody prepared in rabbits against human urinary Ep to fetal sheep during the last third of the gestation period resulted in a suppression of erythropoiesis in the fetus. This was evidenced by a sharp decrease in the numbers of circulating reticulocytes and a reduced rate of 59Fe incorporation into RBC, spleen, and bone marrow, effects ascribable to a neutralization of endogenous Ep. In addition, there was a significant decrease in the numbers of nucleated erythroid cells in the bone marrows of these fetuses. These results point to a physiologic role for Ep in fetal erythropoiesis.

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© 1974 by American Society of Hematology, Inc.
1974
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