title: Heme oxygenase 1 is expressed in murine erythroid cells where it controls the level of regulatory heme.
abstract: Heme is essential for the function of all aerobic cells. However, it can be toxic when it occurs in a non-protein-bound form; cells maintain a fine balance between heme synthesis and catabolism. The only physiological mechanism of heme degradation is by heme oxygenases (HOs). The heme-inducible isoform, HO-1, has been extensively studied in numerous nonerythroid cells, but virtually nothing is known about the expression and potential significance of HO-1 in developing red blood cells. We have demonstrated that HO-1 is present in erythroid cells and that its expression is upregulated during erythroid differentiation. Overexpression of HO-1 in erythroid cells impairs hemoglobin synthesis, whereas HO-1 absence enhances hemoglobinization in cultured erythroid cells. Based on these results, we conclude that HO-1 controls the regulatory heme pool at appropriate levels for any given stage of erythroid differentiation. In summary, our study brings to light the importance of HO-1 expression for erythroid development and expands our knowledge about the fine regulation of hemoglobin synthesis in erythroid cells. Our results indicate that HO-1 plays an important role as a coregulator of the erythroid differentiation process. Moreover, HO-1 expression must be tightly regulated during red blood cell development.
authors: Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, and the Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada;
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Garcia-Santos
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Schranzhofer
authors: Monika
authors: M
authors: Horvathova
authors: Mehrad Mojtahed
authors: MM
authors: Jaberi
authors: Jose Artur
authors: JA
authors: Bogo Chies
authors: Alex D
authors: AD
authors: Sheftel
authors: Prem
authors: P
authors: Ponka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D041905:Erythroid Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D004920:Erythropoiesis / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D006418:Heme / Q000378:metabolism*; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout
chemical_list: D006418:Heme; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1