Heme: driver of erythrocyte elimination

摘要

In this issue of Blood, Liu et al(1) reveal that in sickle cell disease (SCD), hemolysis-derived heme triggers release of IFN-I, which ultimately results in increased liver macrophages that phagocytize antibody-coated erythrocytes (see figure) in both in vivo (mouse) and in vitro (human) models.