| Type: | Family | Name: | Erythropoietin |
| Description: | Erythropoietin, a plasma glycoprotein, is the primary physiological mediator of erythropoiesis []. It is involved in the regulation of the level of peripheral erythrocytes by stimulating the differentiation of erythroid progenitor cells, found in the spleen and bone marrow, into mature erythrocytes []. It is primarily produced in adult kidneys and foetal liver, acting by attachment to specific binding sites on erythroid progenitor cells, stimulating their differentiation []. Severe kidney dysfunction causes reduction in the plasma levels of erythropoietin,resulting in chronic anaemia - injection of purified erythropoietin into the blood stream can help to relieve this type of anaemia. Levels of erythropoietin in plasma fluctuate with varying oxygen tension of the blood, but androgens and prostaglandins also modulate the levels to some extent []. Erythropoietin glycoprotein sequences are well conserved, a consequence of which is that the hormones are cross-reactive among mammals,i.e. that from one species, say human, can stimulate erythropoiesis in other species, say mouse or rat []. This signature is specific for erythropoietin. | Short Name: | Erythroptn |
