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Embryonic nucleated red cells of the rat have high ATP and 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate and relatively low oxygen affinity. During foetal life they are replaced by large non-nucleated red cells with high ATP, low bisphosphoglycerate and high oxygen affinity. After birth, small non-nucleated red cells with high bisphosphoglycerate and low oxygen affinity rapidly predominate.
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J. G. Gilman (1980) studied this question.
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