title: Erythropoietin and the heart: physiological effects and the therapeutic perspective.
abstract: Erythropoietin (Epo) has been thought to act exclusively on erythroid progenitor cells. The identification of Epo receptor (EpoR) in non-haematopoietic cells and tissues including neurons, astrocytes, microglia, immune cells, cancer cell lines, endothelial cells, bone marrow stromal cells, as well as cells of myocardium, reproductive system, gastrointestinal tract, kidney, pancreas and skeletal muscle indicates that Epo has pleiotropic actions. Epo shows signals through protein kinases, anti-apoptotic proteins and transcription factors. In light of interest of administering recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEpo) and its analogues for limiting infarct size and left ventricular (LV) remodelling after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in humans, the foremost studies utilising rhEpo are reviewed. The putative mechanisms involved in Epo-induced cardioprotection are related to the antiapoptotic, anti-inflammatory and angiogenic effects of Epo. Thus, cardioprotective potentials of rhEpo are reviewed in this article by focusing on clinical applicability. An overview of non-haematopoietic Epo analogues, which are a reliable alternative to the classic EpoR agonists and may prevent undesired side effects, is also provided.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Fundación Investigación Hospital Clínico Universitario/INCLIVA, Spain. Electronic address: fabian.sanchis@uv.es.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sanchis-Gomar
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Fundación Investigación Hospital Clínico Universitario/INCLIVA, Spain; CIBERER, The Biomedical Network Research Centre on Rare Diseases, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Garcia-Gimenez
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Fundación Investigación Hospital Clínico Universitario/INCLIVA, Spain.
authors.forename: Helios
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pareja-Galeano
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education and Sports, Catholic University of Valencia, "San Vicente Mártir", Valencia, Spain; Universitary Research Institute "Dr. Viña Giner", Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine, Catholic University of Valencia, "San Vicente Mártir", Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romagnoli
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Fundación Investigación Hospital Clínico Universitario/INCLIVA, Spain.
authors.forename: Carme
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perez-Quilis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry and Hematology, Academic Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lippi
mesh_terms: D056151:Airway Remodeling / Q000502:physiology*; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D017467:Receptors, Erythropoietin / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002316:Cardiotonic Agents; D017467:Receptors, Erythropoietin; D004921:Erythropoietin
keywords: Angiogenesis; Cardioprotection; EpoR; Inflammation; Myocardial infarction; Remodelling