title: Zinc transferrin stimulates red blood cell formation in the head kidney of common carp (Cyprinus carpio).
abstract: The common carp is one of the few fish able to tolerate extremely low oxygen levels. These fish store zinc in their digestive tract tissue and head kidney at concentrations of 300-500μg/g of fresh tissue, which is 5-10 times higher than in other fish. Previous studies have indicated a link between the high zinc levels in the common carp and stress erythropoiesis. In this report, using suspension-cultured common carp head kidney cells with or without ZnCl2 supplementation, we found that zinc stimulated the proliferation of immature red blood cells; however, this effect was only observed when the culture was supplemented with carp serum. We identified the active component of carp serum to be transferrin. The zinc-transferrin complex interacts with the transferrin receptor and stimulates the proliferation of immature red blood cells. In addition, the growth rate of the immature red blood cells was regulated by the supplied ZnCl2 concentration. Under stress, the zinc in the common carp digestive tract tissue was released and used as a signal to induce red blood cell formation in the head kidney. This cell culture system might provide a means for exploring the regulatory role of zinc in hematopoietic cell growth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, College of Life Sciences, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Szu-Wei
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Sen-Shyong
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Jeng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002347:Carps / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002469:Cell Separation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002712:Chlorides / Q000494:pharmacology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D060226:Head Kidney / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin / Q000378:metabolism; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013535:Suspensions; D014168:Transferrin / Q000378:metabolism*; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism*; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D002712:Chlorides; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin; D013535:Suspensions; D014168:Transferrin; D017967:Zinc Compounds; C016837:zinc chloride; D015032:Zinc; C024555:ferric chloride
keywords: Common carp; Erythropoiesis; Stress; Transferrin; Zinc