Loading banked (30 days old) AARBCs with NO decreased SSRBC adhesion and vaso-occlusion in vivo. (A-H) Inhibition of SSRBC adhesion with NO-loaded 30-day-old AARBCs was performed as described in "Materials and methods." Epi-treated SSRBCs (n = 5) exhibited marked adhesion to postcapillary venules, as indicated by black arrows, with intermittent vaso-occlusion as indicated by white arrows. Coinfusion with banked (30-day-old) AARBCs (n = 5) had no effect on Epi-treated SSRBC adhesion to postcapillary venules (indicated by black arrows) and vaso-occlusion (indicated by white arrows), whereas coinfusion with NO-loaded banked (30-day-old) AARBCs (n = 5) markedly inhibited adhesion of Epi-treated SSRBCs to postcapillary vessels (black arrows) with no vaso-occlusion. (I) Venule segments were analyzed by fluorescence intensity to quantify SSRBC adhesion. The values were averaged among groups of animals (n = 5 for each treatment) to represent the mean fluorescence intensity. Error bars show SEM of 5 different experiments. *P = .0207 for Epi-treated SS + old AA compared with Epi-treated SS; **P = .0046 for Epi-treated SS + old AA vs Epi-treated SS + NO-loaded old AA.