Bernd-Joachim Thiele

Maturational Breakdown of Mitochondria and Other Organelles in Reticulocytes

One of the characteristics of the differentiation of erythroid cells is the decay or elimination of organelles, including the nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus. Many of the changes occur in the nucleated precursors of the erythrocyte. Some organelles, however, primarily mitochondria and ribosomes, but also vestiges of others, remain in the reticulocyte. The mechanisms involved in the degradation of organelles are largely unexplored. The process best understood is the maturational breakdown of mitochondria in reticulocytes, which will therefore be the focus of the present review. The various changes appear to constitute a fixed program of maturation that once started takes it course with little or no outside effectors. The interplay of the various events and their causal relationships are open questions.