This article reviews the regulation of production of RBCs at several levels. We focus on the regulated expansion of burstforming unit-erythroid erythroid progenitors by glucocorticoids and other factors that occur during chronic anemia, inflammation, and other conditions of stress.We also highlight the rapid production of RBCs by the coordinated regulation of terminal proliferation and differentiation of committed erythroid colony-forming unit-erythroid progenitors by external signals, such as erythropoietin and adhesion to a fibronectin matrix. We discuss the complex intracellular networks of coordinated gene regulation by transcription factors, chromatin modifiers, and miRNAs that regulate the different stages of erythropoiesis. (Blood. 2011;118(24): 6258-6268) IntroductionIn mammals, definitive erythropoiesis first occurs in the fetal liver with progenitor cells from the yolk sac. 1 Within the fetal liver and the adult bone marrow, hematopoietic cells are formed continuously from a small population of pluripotent stem cells that generate progenitors committed to one or a few hematopoietic lineages (Figure 1). In the erythroid lineage, the earliest committed progenitors identified ex vivo are the slowly proliferating burstforming unit-erythroid (BFU-E). Early BFU-E cells divide and further differentiate through the mature BFU-E stage into rapidly dividing colony-forming unit-erythroid (CFU-E). 2 CFU-E progenitors divide 3 to 5 times over 2 to 3 days as they differentiate and undergo many substantial changes, including a decrease in cell size, chromatin condensation, and hemoglobinization, leading up to their enucleation and expulsion of other organelles. 3 In humans, the life span of RBCs is 120 days. Under normal conditions, approximately 1% of RBCs are synthesized each day but RBC production can increase substantially during times of acute or chronic stress, such as acute trauma or hemolysis. Exquisite short-term control of erythropoiesis is regulated by the kidney-derived cytokine erythropoietin (Epo), which is induced under hypoxic conditions and stimulates the terminal proliferation and differentiation of CFU-E progenitors. 4 BFU-E cells respond to many hormones in addition to Epo, including SCF, insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), glucocorticoids (GCs), and IL-3, and IL-6. In cases of chronic erythroid stress, such as hemolysis, the number of CFU-E progenitors is insufficient to produce the needed RBCs, even under high Epo levels, and the body responds by producing more of these progenitors from BFU-E. 5 It is not entirely known which cells in the fetal liver or adult bone marrow produce these and other regulatory cytokines, or how they interact to regulate the division of BFU-E cells and control their self-renewal and their ability to differentiate into more mature CFU-E progenitors.At each stage of RBC production, intracellular signal transduction proteins and transcription factors activated downstream of these hormones interact with a group of DNA-binding and other transcription factors and chromati...

Immune checkpoint blockade therapy has been successful in treating some types of cancers but has not shown clinical benefits for treating leukemia 1 . This result suggests that leukemia exploits unique escape mechanisms. Certain immune inhibitory receptors that are expressed by normal immune cells are also present on leukemia cells. It remains unknown whether these receptors can initiate immune-related primary signaling in tumor cells. Here we show that LILRB4, an ITIM-containing receptor and a monocytic leukemia marker, supports tumor cell infiltration into tissues and suppresses T cell activity via ApoE/LILRB4/SHP-2/uPAR/Arginase-1 signaling axis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. Blocking LILRB4 signaling using knockout and antagonistic antibody approaches impeded AML development. Thus, LILRB4 orchestrates tumor invasion pathways in monocytic leukemia cells by creating an immune-suppressive microenvironment. LILRB4 represents a compelling target for treatment of monocytic AML.

Stem cells and progenitors in many lineages undergo self- renewing divisions, but the extracellular and intracellular proteins that regulate this process are largely unknown. Glucocorticoids stimulate red cell formation by promoting self-renewal of early erythroid burst forming unit-erythrocyte (BFU-E) progenitors1-4. Here we show that the RNA binding protein Zfp36l2 is a transcriptional target of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in BFU-Es and is required for BFU-E self-renewal. Zfp36l2 is normally downregulated during erythroid differentiation from the BFU-E stage but its expression is maintained by all tested GR agonists that stimulate BFU-E self-renewal, and the GR binds to several potential enhancer regions of Zfp36l2. Knockdown of Zfp36l2 in cultured BFU-E cells did not affect the rate of cell division but disrupted glucocorticoid-induced BFU-E self-renewal, and knockdown of Zfp36l2 in transplanted erythroid progenitors prevented expansion of erythroid lineage progenitors normally seen following induction of anemia by phenylhydrazine treatment. Zfp36l2 preferentially binds to mRNAs that are induced or maintained at high expression levels during terminal erythroid differentiation and negatively regulates their expression levels. Thus Zfp36l2 functions as part of molecular switch promoting BFU-E self-renewal and thus a subsequent increase in the total numbers of CFU-E progenitors and erythroid cells that are generated.

Using RNA-seq technology, we found that the majority of microRNAs (miRNAs) present in CFU-E erythroid progenitors are down-regulated during terminal erythroid differentiation. Of the developmentally down-regulated miRNAs, ectopic overexpression of miR-191 blocks erythroid enucleation but has minor effects on proliferation and differentiation. We identified two erythroid-enriched and developmentally up-regulated genes, Riok3 and Mxi1, as direct targets of miR-191. Knockdown of either Riok3 or Mxi1 blocks enucleation, and either physiological overexpression of miR-191 or knockdown of Riok3 or Mxi1 blocks chromatin condensation. Thus, downregulation of miR-191 is essential for erythroid chromatin condensation and enucleation by allowing up-regulation of Riok3 and Mxi1.

SjP40 is a major egg antigen of Schistosoma japonicum. In the present study, the authors investigated the effect of SjP40 in vitro on transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)- stimulated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). LX-2, an immortalized human HSC line, was treated with purified recombinant SjP40 (rSjP40) in the presence or absence of TGF-β1. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis were performed to determine messenger ribonucleic acid and protein of fibrogenic genes and TGF-β signaling pathway. The results showed that expression of fibrogenic genes was significantly reduced by rSjP40. Furthermore, rSjP40 also suppressed the TGF-β1-induced upregulation of Smads and ERK proteins. We also found that the effect of rSjP40 on HSCs was similar to SB431542, an inhibitor of type I TGF-β receptor. In conclusion, the data suggest that SjP40 attenuates HSC activation, which might be, at least in part, mediated by inhibiting the TGF-β and ERK signaling pathways.

BackgroundIn the process of hepatic fibrosis, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) can be activated by many inflammatory cytokines. The transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is one of the main profibrogenic mediators. Recently, some studies have also shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play essential roles in the progress of liver fibrosis by being involved in the differentiation, fat metabolism and ECM production of HSCs.MethodsThe expression of miR-454 in LX-2 cells treated with TGF-β1 and in the fibrotic livers with Schistosoma japonicum infection was detected by qRT-PCR. The role of miR-454 on LX-2 cells was then analyzed by Western blot, flow cytometry and luciferase assay.ResultsThe results showed that the expression of miR-454 was down-regulated in the TGF-β1-treated LX-2 cells and miR-454 could inhibit the activation of HSCs by directly targeting Smad4. However, we found that miR-454 had no effect on cell cycle and cell proliferation in TGF-β1-treated LX-2. Besides these, miR-454 was found to be regulated in the process of Schistosoma japonicum infection.ConclusionsAll the results suggested that miR-454 could provide a novel therapeutic approach for treating liver fibrosis, especially the liver fibrosis induced by Schistosoma japonicum.

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Highlights d CRISPR/Cas9 screen identifies PDXK as an AML selective metabolic dependency d PDXK kinase activity and PLP are selectively required for leukemic cell proliferation d PLP-dependent enzymes ODC1 and GOT2 selectively support leukemic cell proliferation d The vitamin B6 pathway is a therapeutically actionable dependency in leukemia