BiotechMashup

(UT Southwestern Medical Center) Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered a key step in the creation of new red blood cells in an animal study.

We take our blood for granted, but its creation requires a complicated series of steps, starting with the formation of blood stem cells during early embryonic development, followed by progressive differentiation into the progenitors of red cells, white cells and platelets, and ultimately the full set of blood cells. Now, researchers report a surprising twist in how mature red blood cells form.

Pediatric researchers have discovered a new biological pathway in which small segments of RNA, called microRNA, help protect red blood cells from injury caused by chemicals called free radicals. The microRNA seems to have only a modest role when red blood cells experience normal conditions, but steps into action when the cells are threatened by oxidant stress. The study illustrates how microRNA fine-tunes gene activity.

Stem cell scientists have modified a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line to glow red when the stem cells become red blood cells. The modified hESC line, ErythRED, represents a major step forward to the eventual aim of generating mature, fully functional red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells.

(Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) Pediatric researchers have discovered a new biological pathway in which small segments of RNA, called microRNA, help protect red blood cells from injury caused by chemicals called free radicals. The microRNA seems to have only a modest role when red blood cells experience normal conditions, but steps into action when the cells are threatened by oxidant stress. The study illustrates how microRNA fine-tunes gene activity.

A long non-coding RNA prevents programmed cell death during one of the final stages of red blood cell differentiation, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. Preventing normal cell death is a key step in the development of leukemias and other cancers. Because of its role in red blood cell apoptosis, this lncRNA or the pathways through which it exerts its anti-apoptotic effects may represent potential therapeutic targets.

(Children's Hospital Boston) We take our blood for granted, but its creation requires a complicated series of steps, starting with the formation of blood stem cells during early embryonic development, followed by progressive differentiation into the progenitors of red cells, white cells and platelets, and ultimately the full set of blood cells. Now, in the July 9 issue of Cell, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report a surprising twist in how mature red blood cells form

Much like a tightly wound drum, red blood cells are in perpetual vibration. Those vibrations help the cells maintain their characteristic flattened oval or disc shape, which is critical to their ability to deform as they traverse blood vessels in the body to deliver oxygen to tissues.

Scientists have identified two small RNA molecules which ensure that enough red blood cells are produced efficiently, by fine-tuning a number of different genes involved in this process.