MAMMALIAN RED CELLS AS A SOURCE OF "SMALL PARTICLES"

Abstract

Small particles (heavy protein) essentially similar to those previously isolated from other tissues have been isolated. from mammalian red blood cells. Evidence was obtained that the particles are fragments of bigger structures present in the intact cells, or in other words, that the "stroma" of the cells is their source. About 1/3 of the dry wt. of the particles are lipids. When inoculated into a foreign host they produce hemolysins against the homologous erythrocytes. The fact that such particles can be isolated from mammalian red cells which do not contain visible granules is taken to indicate that some at least of the particles isolated from whole organs represent disintegrated "stroma.".