IntroductionThe lifespan of circulating red blood cells (RBCs) is approximately 120 and 40 days in humans and mice, respectively, and is determined by their production in bone marrow (BM) and their clearance from the peripheral circulation, predominantly in the spleen and liver. [1][2][3] The production of RBCs is controlled by the primary erythropoietic regulator erythropoietin, 2,4 whereas clearance of old RBCs by the spleen is achieved mostly as a result of their specific recognition and phagocytosis by splenic macrophages. 5,6 The precise molecular mechanism by which splenic macrophages recognize senescent RBCs for phagocytosis is largely unknown, however. [1][2][3] Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase substrate-1 (SHPS-1), 7,8 also known as signal-regulatory protein ␣, 9 brain immunoglobulin (Ig)-like molecule with tyrosinebased activation motifs, 10 and p84 neural adhesion molecule, 11 is a transmembrane protein that is especially abundant in macrophages. [12][13][14] The putative extracellular region of SHPS-1 comprises 3 Ig-like domains, and its cytoplasmic region contains 4 tyrosine phosphorylation sites that mediate the binding of Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatases designated SHP-1 and SHP-2. 7,9 Tyrosine phosphorylation of SHPS-1 is regulated by various growth factors and cytokines as well as by integrinmediated cell adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins. 7,9,[15][16][17][18] SHPS-1 thus functions as a docking protein to recruit and activate SHP-1 or SHP-2 at the cell membrane in response to extracellular stimuli. In macrophages, tyrosine-phosphorylated SHPS-1 binds SHP-1, 12,19,20 which is implicated in negative regulation of the functions of a variety of hematopoietic cells. [21][22][23] The complex of SHPS-1 and SHP-1 is thus thought to regulate macrophage functions in a negative manner.CD47 is a ligand for the extracellular region of SHPS-1. 24,25 This protein, which was originally identified in association with ␣v3 integrin, is also a member of the Ig superfamily, possessing an Ig-V-like extracellular domain, 5 putative membrane-spanning segments, and a short cytoplasmic tail. 26 CD47 and SHPS-1 constitute a cell-cell communication system (the CD47-SHPS-1 system) that plays important roles in a variety of cellular processes including cell migration, 27,28 adhesion of B cells, 29 and T-cell activation. 14,30 In addition, the CD47-SHPS-1 system is implicated in negative regulation of phagocytosis by macrophages. CD47 is highly expressed on the surface of RBCs, where it associates with the Rh protein complex instead of with integrins. 31 The rate of clearance of CD47-deficient RBCs from the bloodstream was found to be markedly increased compared with that of wild-type (WT) cells. 6,32 Furthermore, the phagocytosis of CD47-deficient RBCs by splenic or BM-derived macrophages was greatly enhanced Supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas Cancer; a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B); a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scie...