Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) hold tremendous promise to improve our understanding of human biology. Recent GWAS have revealed over 75 loci associated with erythroid traits, including the 4q27 locus that is associated with red blood cell size (mean corpuscular volume). The close linkage disequilibrium block at this locus harbors the CCNA2 gene that encodes cyclin A2. CCNA2 mRNA is high...

The enumeration of erythropoietic colony-forming cells in vitro has allowed us to complete previous data on changes in the various erythroid cell populations during chick embryo-genesis. Erythrocytic colony-forming units in culture (CFU-cE) which are sensitive to avian erythropoietin appear in the blastoderm as soon as the 24th hour of development. They represent most likely precursors of the m...

The online version of this article has a Supplementary Appendix. Background Hypochromic microcytic anemia associated with ineffective erythropoiesis caused by recessive mutations in divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) can be improved with high-dose erythropoietin supplementation. The aim of this study was to characterize and compare erythropoiesis in samples from a DMT1-mutant patient before an...

In this issue of Blood, Alvarez-Dominguez et al use a combination of genomics technology, bioinformatics, and functional analyses to provide new insights into our understanding of the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in erythropoiesis.1 This is an initial step forward in our understanding of the many roles of lncRNAs in normal and perturbed erythropoiesis. lncRNAs have recently emerged as ...

Using an in vitro bioassay, erythropoiesis stimulating activity has been measured in serum, cyst fluids and tumour homogenates from fourteen patients with cerebellar haemangioblastoma. Only two patients had elevated peripheral blood red cell counts and haemoglobin concentrations. Significantly elevated serum erythropoiesis stimulating activity was found in only one patient. High level, however,...

The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor gene plays important roles in cell cycle control, differentiation and survival during development and is functionally inactivated in most human cancers. Early studies using gene targeting in mice suggested a critical role for pRb in erythropoiesis, while more recent experiments have suggested that many of the abnormal embryonic phenotypes in the Rb null mouse...

Alpha-hemoglobin-stabilizing protein (AHSP) is an erythroid-specific protein that acts as a molecular chaperone for the free α chains of hemoglobin. Evidence strongly suggests that AHSP participates in hemoglobin synthesis and may act to neutralize the cytotoxic effects of excess free alpha-globin subunits that accumulate both in normal and beta-thalassemic erythroid precursor cells. As such, A...

miRNAs play important roles in many biological processes, including erythropoiesis. Although several miRNAs regulate erythroid differentiation, how the key erythroid regulator, GATA-1, directly orchestrates differentiation through miRNA pathways remains unclear. In this study, we identified miR-23a as a key regulator of erythropoiesis, which was upregulated both during erythroid differentiation...

The pathogenesis of the anemia associated with malignancy was investigated in a patient with T cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The plasma clot culture system was used as a measure in vitro of erythropoiesis. The patient's peripheral blood and marrow T lymphocytes obtained both before and after transfusion therapy suppressed erythroid colony formation by normal human bone marrow cells. Pretre...

Anemia is common in patients treated with chemotherapy for both solid and hematologic malignancies, contributing to fatigue and diminished quality of life and exposing them to the inherent risks of red blood cell transfusions. Erythropoiesis-stimulating proteins have been shown to increase hemoglobin levels, reduce the need for transfusions, and improve quality of life. The current practice gui...