Kim H D, Watts R P, Luthra M G, Schwalbe C R, Conner R T, Brendel K
Biochim Biophys Acta. 1980 Feb 8;589(2):256-63. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(80)90042-0.
The red cell of newborn pig loses the ability to carry out glycolysis within a month after birth. The metabolic energy source for this 'non-glycolytic' mammalian red cell is unknown. Hepatectomy of an adult pig results in the loss of red cell ATP with a characteristic half-time of 7--8 h which is identical to the rate with which ATP disappears in the pig cells under in vitro substrate-free incubation. Exposure of pig red cells with either normal or depleted levels of ATP to isolated hepatocytes causes a net synthesis of red cell ATP during a 12 h incubation. These findings suggest that a symbiotic relationship of energy metabolism may exist between the red cell and the liver of the pig.
