Red blood cell hemolysates (1-3) and heme-related compounds (4, 5) have been reported to stimulate erythropoiesis in several animal species. Erslev (6) and Okamura, Udupa and Reissmann ( 7 ) reported recently that the erythropoietic effect of red cell hemolysates is due to the release of renal erythropoietin (ESF). Brown, Altschuler and Cooper (4) reported that bilirubin produced an increase in reticulocytes and iron incorporation in red blood cells of fasted dehydrated rats. However, the mechanism by which heme-related compounds stimulate erythropoiesis has not been studied.The present studies were undertaken to clarify the mechanism of the erythropoietic action of bilirubin, an end product of red cell metabolism.Materials and Methods. Female Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 250-275 g were used in these studies. Purified bilirubin (Sigma Chemical Co.) was dissolved in a solution containing 0.5 % sodium carbonate and
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.