Scientists at Ohio University and Russia discovered that carnosine and N-acetyl-carnosine can prevent alcohol's assault on red blood cells, allowing them to maintain their healthy shapes. The findings have implications for the development of a treatment for anemia in alcoholics.
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have uncovered a potential switch that helps control the manufacture of red blood cells and blood-clotting platelets. Activating 'death receptors' on immature red blood cells triggers caspases, which can halt excessive production by blocking cell growth and differentiation.
The study found that blood cell precursors originate soon after mesoderm cells appear in the embryo, suggesting a new understanding of blood cell development. The discovery also revealed that definitive red blood cell precursors can be found in the yolk sac before they appear within the embryo.