Regulation of transferrin receptors by iron in human erythroblasts

We investigated the regulatory mechanism of human erythroblast transferrin receptors (Tf.R) under conditions of iron deprivation and iron loading. Treatment of erythroblasts with an iron chelator, desferrioxamine, induced an increase in surface Tf.R number associated with an elevation of biosynthetic rate and the mRNA level of Tf.R. Reduced cellular iron pool increased the Tf.R number by altering the level of mRNA, as in nonhemoglobin-producing cells. Although treatment of erythroblasts with hemin induced a decrease in the biosynthetic rate and in the level of mRNA, the number of surface Tf.R did not decrease. This phenomenon may explain the fact that a high level of serum iron has no influence on the surface Tf.R number in vivo, as we reported previously. We suggest the existence of a regulatory mechanism specific for hemoglobin-producing cells that keeps surface Tf.R expression constant despite iron loading.