SEARCH:   Advanced

Blood, 1 August 2008, Vol. 112, No. 3, pp. 470-478. This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Rights and Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Google Scholar Articles by Chasis, J. A. Articles by Mohandas, N. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chasis, J. A. Articles by Mohandas, N. Related Collections Red Cells Free Research Articles ASH 50th Anniversary Reviews Social Bookmarking                   What's this?  Previous Article  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Article  ASH 50TH ANNIVERSARY REVIEW Erythroblastic islands: niches for erythropoiesis Joel Anne Chasis1,2, and Narla Mohandas3 1 Life Sciences Division, University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley; 2 Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); and 3 Red Cell Physiology Laboratory, The New York Blood Center, New York City Erythroblastic islands, the specialized niches in which erythroid precursors proliferate, differentiate, and enucleate, were first described 50 years ago by analysis of transmission electron micrographs of bone marrow. These hematopoietic subcompartments are composed of erythroblasts surrounding a central macrophage. A hiatus of several decades followed, during which the importance of erythroblastic islands remained unrecognized as erythroid progenitors were shown to possess an autonomous differentiation program with a capacity to complete terminal differentiation in vitro in the presence of erythropoietin but without macrophages. However, as the extent of proliferation, differentiation, and enucleation efficiency documented in vivo could not be recapitulated in vitro, a resurgence of interest in erythroid niches has emerged. We now have an increased molecular understanding of processes operating within erythroid niches, including cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, positive and negative regulatory feedback, and central macrophage function. These features of erythroblast islands represent important contributors to normal erythroid development, as well as altered erythropoiesis found in such diverse diseases as anemia of inflammation and chronic disease, myelodysplasia, thalassemia, and malarial anemia. Coupling of historical, current, and future insights will be essential to understand the tightly regulated production of red cells both in steady state and stress erythropoiesis. CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

	Copyright © 2008 by American Society of Hematology         Online ISSN: 1528-0020