Erythrokinetics and ferrokinetics of a viral-induced murine erythroblastosis

A variant of Rauscher leukemia virus, designated RLV-A, induced a slow progressive impairment of erythropoiesis in BALB/c mice. Identified in this study were a shortened red cell 51-cr half-time, anemia with indices showing minimal but significant hypochromia, ineffective erythropoiesis, and infiltration of the liver, spleen, and peripheral blood with erythroid pecursors. Ferrokinetic studies indicated a normal plasma iron turnover in infected mice but a decreased red cell iron turnover. Large amounts of 59Fe were taken up by the enlarged liver and spleen. Peak splenic heme 59Fe synthesis was delayed 12 hr in the infected mice. The substantial increase in the splenic intraerythrocytic nonheme iron pool and the hypochromic indices indicate a process analogous to that seen in the sideroblastic anemias. The disease produced by this RLV-A variant may prove useful for studying various aspects of the preleukemic sideroblastic anemias and DiGuglielmo syndrome.