Quantitative Analysis of Erythroid Reaction

Abstract

From biochemical studies the authors previously pointed out that in the reactive erythroid hyperplasia, proerythroblasts and basophilic erythroblasts possessing nuclei of high metabolic activity are accumulated in the bone marrow. The authors also pointed out that “reticulocyte crisis” occurred when these immature erythroblasts, not following the normal heteroplastic process, disappeared from the bone marrow either after their rapid maturation or through the extrusion of their nuclei.
In this paper, the erythroid reaction was studied quantitatively from the view point of karyometrial findings of erythroblasts.
Each erythroblast compartment was first determined by the method of Weicker.
From observations on the interrelation between the mode of reaction in erythroblast compartments and the reticulocyte crisis, it would be concluded that reticulocytes are directly originated from intermediate erythroblasts (K₁, K1/2, K1/4). The large-sized reticulocytes which were thought to be formed by the abortion of more immature erythroblasts (mainly K₁), were fragile and short-living.
It is also suggested that O-Ebl or K1/8 produces non-reticulated normocytes not through reticulocyte formation.