Physiologically aged red blood cells undergo erythrophagocytosis in vivo but not in vitro.

Background: The lifespan of red blood cells is terminated when macrophages remove senescent red blood cells by erythrophagocytosis. This puts macrophages at the center of systemic iron recycling in addition to their functions in tissue remodeling and innate immunity. Thus far, erythrophagocytosis has been studied by evaluating phagocytosis of erythrocytes that were damaged to mimic senescence.

Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) exhibits inhibitory and preventive effects on prostate tumors in mice.

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy for men in Western countries. Research showed that cruciferous vegetables containing indole derivatives were involved in cancer prevention. This study was designed to investigate the effect of indole-3-carbinol (I3C) in cell lines and on PC tumor growth in mice when given as a therapeutic and as a preventive treatment.