Accumulation of orthochromatophilic normoblasts in bone marrow of vitamin E-deficient monkey, Macaca fasicularis.

Crab-eating monkeys, Macaca fasicularis, fed a vitamin E-depleted diet for over 15 months, showed signs of anemia manifested by a lowering in hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration and red blood cell number, and by an increased susceptibility of erythrocytes to hydrogen peroxide lysis. Bone marrow pictures indicated the presence of multinucleated erythroid precursor cells and an accumulation of orthochromatophilic normoblasts. Supplementation with vitamin E resulted in reticulocytosis and a return of the normal bone marrow picture.