Determination of RBC Survival in C57BL/6 and C57BL/6-Tg(UBC-GFP) Mice

Although several methods for determining erythrocyte lifespan are used in research studies that involve mice, all involve the alteration of RBC to allow for its tracking over time, which may affect overall RBC survival. The aims of this study were to determine 1) whether sex affects RBC survival; 2) whether RBC survival differs between the biotin method and an alternative method that uses GFP; and 3) whether repeat exposure of mice to biotin results in an antibiotin antibody response or decreased RBC survival. The results suggest no difference in the RBC half-life between male and female C57BL/6 mice (22.9 ± 1.2 and 22.4 ± 0.9 d, respectively). In addition, RBC half-life did not differ between the biotin- and GFP-based methods (20.5 ± 2.1 d and 22.7 ± 2.1 d, respectively). Finally, retransfusion of mice 90 d after an initial transfusion with biotin-labeled RBC did not induce detectable antibiotin antibodies nor alter the half-life of transfused biotin-labeled RBC (initial transfusion, 22.0 ± 1.2 d; subsequent transfusion, 23.4 ± 1.4 d, respectively).