Figure 1.

Red blood cell (RBC) clearance is normal in mice deficient in either immunoglobulin, C3, or both. RBCs from GFP⁺ mice of the indicated strains were transfused into GFP⁻ mice of the same strains. (A) Transfused RBCs were visualized by flow cytometry after gating on the RBC population by forward and size scatter (representative panels shown). (B) Percentage of circulating RBCs was determined at each of the indicated time points, longitudinally in the same mice for the length of the experiment. To allow monitoring of RBCs for the entire RBC lifespan, 100 μL of GFP⁺ RBCs were transfused, resulting in an approximate 10% of RBCs at the beginning of the experiment [representative flow cytometry shown in panel (A)]. There were three mice included in each group; error bars represent SD. A representative experiment is shown; similar results were observed in three out of three repetitions.