Mitoxantrone promoted autophagy in reticulocytes of β-thalassemia mice. (A) Globin precipitates (indicated by black arrows) in enriched reticulocytes analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Scare bars, 2 μm. (B) Mitochondria in enriched reticulocytes analyzed by TEM. Red arrows indicate damaged mitochondria within double-membrane structures. Orange arrows indicate naked intact mitochondria. Scare bars, 200 nm. (C) Representative images of western blot assay for mTOR, p62, and LC3 protein expression in enriched reticulocytes. β-actin was used as a loading control. (D) Densitometric analysis of protein levels detected above using ImageJ software. The groups (n = 4-6 mice, respectively) mean WT and Hbb^Th3/+ (Th3/+) mice treated with either PBS or mitoxantrone. The bar plot represents the mean ± SD of samples. ∗P < .05; ∗∗P < .01; ∗∗∗∗P < .0001.