title: Cyclin D3 coordinates the cell cycle during differentiation to regulate erythrocyte size and number.
abstract: Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified a genetic variant of moderate effect size at 6p21.1 associated with erythrocyte traits in humans. We show that this variant affects an erythroid-specific enhancer of CCND3. A Ccnd3 knockout mouse phenocopies these erythroid phenotypes, with a dramatic increase in erythrocyte size and a concomitant decrease in erythrocyte number. By examining human and mouse primary erythroid cells, we demonstrate that the CCND3 gene product cyclin D3 regulates the number of cell divisions that erythroid precursors undergo during terminal differentiation, thereby controlling erythrocyte size and number. We illustrate how cell type-specific specialization can occur for general cell cycle components-a finding resulting from the biological follow-up of unbiased human genetic studies.
authors.affiliation: Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Vijay G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Sankaran
authors.forename: Leif S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sicinska
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Jennifer C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Eng
authors.forename: Heide Christine
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Ryan A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Metcalf
authors.forename: Yasodha
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Natkunam
authors.forename: Stuart H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Orkin
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sicinski
authors.forename: Eric S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Lander
authors.forename: Harvey F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Lodish
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D048429:Cell Size; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D056743:Cyclin D3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004920:Erythropoiesis / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006801:Humans; D020014:K562 Cells; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout
chemical_list: D056743:Cyclin D3