Molecular mechanisms of erythropoietin signaling

Erythropoietin is an obligatory growth factor for red blood cell production. The receptor for erythropoietin contains a single membrane-spanning domain with no intrinsic tyrosine kinase motifs. On binding to erythropoietin, the receptor dimerizes and activates multiple intracellular signaling molecules, including but not limited to JAK2, STAT5, PI 3-kinase, IRS-2, RAS, and Ca2+ channels. This review focuses on cytoplasmic signaling cascades involved in erythropoietin action.