Enzymatic Lipid Peroxidation: A Step in the Breakdown of Mitochondria during the Maturation of Red Blood Cells

Abstract

The maturation of red blood cells is characterized by a loss of cellular organelles such as the ribosomes and mitochondria and by a partial breakdown of the cell membrane with a loss of various receptors and active transport systems. The lipoxygenase of reticulocytes was originally discovered as a protein in rabbit reticulocyte cytosol which could damage isolated rat liver mitochondria and cause an irreversible inactivation of respiratory enzymes. This protein was later shown to be a cell specific lipoxygenase; it was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity¹ and its chemical and enzymatic properties have been described.² In this paper we report recent results on the interaction of the pure reticulocyte lipoxygenase with esterified fatty acids and biological membranes in vitro, and on the intracellular action of the enzyme during the maturation process of reticulocytes.