From hematopoietic stem cells to terminal erythroid differentiation

¹ Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
² Department of Cell Biology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: j.philipsen{at}erasmusmc.nl.

	Abstract

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. The hereditary anemias constitute the most common human genetic disorders, with 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 post-mitotic maturation of RBCs. We report on the EUrythron meting 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.