Fig. 4. Apoptosis and analysis of red cell membrane and marginal band. (A) A fluorescent confocal TUNEL assay on peripheral blood and kidney from wild-type and mot cells reveals a significant number of apoptotic cells (green) in the kidneys of mot, whereas peripheral blood of mutant fish showed a few cells undergoing apoptosis. (B) Scanning electron micrographs show wild-type cells with biconcave elliptical morphology. Red cells from mot fish appear microspherocytic, with abnormal membrane pitting and projections. (C,D) Transmission EM analysis reveals elliptical wild-type cells with elongated nuclei and compact, organized cortical membranes. The spherical mot cells with spiculated membranes lack a sharply packed and organized cortical membrane. (E) A confocal immunofluorescence analysis detects the localization of microtubules in a marginal band in wild-type red cells (green), whereas in mutant cells the microtubules exhibit a diffuse localization. Scale bar: in B, 2.5 µm.

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