Abstract
Caspase-3 plays a central role in apoptosis. It is also activated in normal erythropoiesis, with its activity peaking early during development (erythroid colony-forming unit [CFU-E] stage). In the present study, we have reduced the expression and subsequent enzymatic activity of caspase-3 by transfection of small interfering RNA (siRNA) directed to caspase-3 in a differentiating human erythroid culture system. We find that siRNA treatment yields a 50% reduction in cells that undergo enucleation with no change in the fraction of cells that undergo apoptosis, measured throughout the culture. Furthermore, a substantial fraction of treated cells are unable to complete the transition from pronormoblasts to basophilic normoblasts. These results demonstrate that caspase-3 is required for efficient erythropoiesis in this model system.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 4310-4316 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Blood |
Volume | 103 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Immunology
- Hematology
- Cell Biology