Protein 'Nixes' Mitochrondria, Prompts Maturation Of Red Blood Cells
Monday, May 5, 2008 - 22:21
in Health & Medicine
A process of self-digestion called autophagy prompts the maturation of red blood cells. Without a protein called Nix, the cells would not effectively rid themselves of organelles called mitochondria and consequently become short-lived, leading to anemia, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report that appears online in the journal Nature.