# Regulation of human erythropoiesis

> **NIH NIH P01** · NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER · 2020 · $291,185

## Abstract

Project Summary
Our purpose in this project is to illuminate the complexities of the mechanisms regulating erythropoiesis in
man. We believe that there is a pressing need for such a study since erythroid cell development differs in
critical respects from that of most other cells, on which current knowledge largely rests. Erythropoiesis is a
distinctive process in that each mitosis generates daughter cells that are morphologically and functionally
distinct from their parent cell. This has a direct clinical bearing since disordered erythropoiesis, a feature of
several anemias including Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) result
from stage specific defects in erythroid differentiation. In the proposed studies, we will focus on two of the
most important aspects of erythroid differentiation, namely the mechanistic bases regulating erythroid
progenitor generation and terminal erythroid differentiation including enucleation. In order to accomplish these
objectives, we propose two specific aims. In the first aim we hypothesize that erythroid progenitors, BFU-E
and CFU-E, are heterogeneous cell populations characterized by changes in specific gene expression
patterns. Resolving this question will be an essential step towards understanding the molecular basis for
disordered erythropoiesis in DBA as erythroid developmental defects in DBA arise at the progenitor stage.
Our second aim will explore the multifarious mechanisms regulating the expression of anti-apoptotic genes in
polychromatic and orthochromatic erythroblasts and the subsequent induction of mitosis/cytokinesis genes
allowing enucleation of orthochromatic erythroblasts. We hypothesize that deregulation of gene expression at
these developmental stages are responsible for apoptosis of terminally differentiating cells in MDS. We
anticipate that successful accomplishment of the proposed studies will provide novel insights into normal
erythroid cell development as well as into diseases associated with disordered erythropoiesis. The recognition
in recent years of an increasing number of conditions linked to anomalies of erythropoiesis, lend new urgency
to pursue the proposed studies in view of the paucity of effective treatments. We hope and expect that the
research direction we propose may lay the groundwork for developing novel therapeutic strategies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10013231
- **Project number:** 5P01DK032094-32
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Mohandas Narla
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $291,185
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-01-30 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10013231

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10013231, Regulation of human erythropoiesis (5P01DK032094-32). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10013231. Licensed CC0.

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