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Emodin can induce K562 cells to erythroid differentiation and improve the expression of globin genes

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Abstract

In China, the traditional Chinese medicine “YiSui ShenXu Granule” has been used for treating β-thalassemia over 20 years and known to be effective in clinic. Several purified components from “YiSui ShenXu Granule” are tested in K562 cells to reveal its effect on globin expression and erythroid differentiation, and one of the purified components, emodin, was demonstrated to increase the expression of α-, ε-, γ-globin, CD235a, and CD71 in K562 cells. Moreover, the increase of their expression is emodin concentration-dependent. The mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles are further analyzed and 417 mRNAs and 35 miRNAs with differential expression between untreated and emodin-treated K562 cells were identified. Among them, two mRNAs that encode known positive regulators of erythropoiesis, ALAS2, and c-KIT respectively, increased during emodin-induced K562 erythroid differentiation, meanwhile, two negative regulators, miR-221 and miR-222, decreased during this process. These results indicate that emodin can improve the expression of globin genes in K562 cells and also induce K562 cells to erythroid differentiation possibly through up-regulating ALAS2 and c-KIT and down-regulating miR-221 and miR-222.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Basic Research Program of China (2010CB530406) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31201103).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) and Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Beijing, 100005, People’s Republic of China

    Yan-Ni Ma, Ming-Tai Chen, Hua-Lu Zhao, Hai-Chuan Yu, Jia Yu & Jun-Wu Zhang

  2. Molecular Biology Laboratory of Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, People’s Republic of China

    Zhi-Kui Wu

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  1. Yan-Ni Ma
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  2. Ming-Tai Chen
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  3. Zhi-Kui Wu
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  5. Hai-Chuan Yu
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  7. Jun-Wu Zhang
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Correspondence to Jun-Wu Zhang.

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Yan-Ni Ma and Ming-Tai Chen contributed to this work equally.

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Ma, YN., Chen, MT., Wu, ZK. et al. Emodin can induce K562 cells to erythroid differentiation and improve the expression of globin genes. Mol Cell Biochem 382, 127–136 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-013-1726-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-013-1726-3

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