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This Article Free via Open Access: OA OA Full Text Full Text (PDF) OA All Versions of this Article: 2006-0121v1 24/11/2478    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Migliaccio, A. R. Articles by Philipsen, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Migliaccio, A. R. Articles by Philipsen, S.

TISSUE-SPECIFIC STEM CELLS

Reflections on the European Union Eurythron Network Meeting "Molecular Control of Erythropoiesis," September 22–23, 2005, Istituto Superiore Di Sanità, Rome, Italy

^aIstituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy;
^bErasmus University Medical Center, Department of Cell Biology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Key Words. Hematopoietic stem cells • Commitment • Hematopoiesis • Erythropoiesis • Networks

Correspondence: Sjaak Philipsen, Ph.D., Erasmus University Medical Center, Department of Cell Biology, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Telephone: 31-10-4088282; Fax: 31-10-4089468; e-mail: j.philipsen{at}erasmusmc.nl

Received March 2, 2006; accepted for publication July 14, 2006.
First published online in STEM CELLS EXPRESS   September 7, 2006.



Red blood cells (RBCs) mediate oxygen transport throughout the body, a function that is essential for life. RBCs are continuously produced via a process called erythropoiesis. Anemias (insufficient numbers of functional RBCs), caused by failure of erythropoiesis, are a major cause of disease worldwide. Hereditary anemias constitute the most common human genetic disorders; they have no effective cure yet. The European research training network Eurythron follows a multidisciplinary approach to clarify the important molecular mechanisms in normal and pathological erythropoiesis, with a view to develop novel therapies to cure the anemias. The aim is to generate a comprehensive molecular description of mechanisms governing specification of hematopoietic stem cells in embryogenesis, lineage commitment, differentiation, and postmitotic maturation of RBCs. We report on the Eurythron meeting in Rome, in which novel approaches in stem cell and erythroid cell biology, including in vitro expansion of primary cells, biochemistry of receptor/signal transduction complexes and transcription factors, and (epi)genetics, were discussed.