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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Mouse Fetal Liver Culture System to Dissect Target Gene Functions at the Early and Late Stages of Terminal Erythropoiesis
Published on: September 9, 2014
Indian hedgehog supports definitive erythropoiesis
Simon O Cridland1, Janelle R Keys, Peter Papathanasiou
1Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia.
Abstract:
Indian hedgehog (Ihh) has been reported to stimulate haematopoiesis ex vivo. In this study we studied the consequences of loss of function of Ihh for murine haematopoietic development. Ihh has no essential role in primitive erythropoiesis, but it is required in a non cell autonomous fashion for definitive erythropoieisis. Many components of the hedgehog signaling pathway are present in the fetal liver, with Ihh and Gli1 being most highly expressed in the stroma and Ptc1 being most highly expressed in haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Ihh knockout HSC and progenitor cell populations are produced in normal numbers in vivo and respond normally to haematopoietic cytokines in vitro, but terminal erythroid differentiation is defective leading to fatal anemia in mid gestation in many Ihh knockout embryos. These loss-of-function studies are consistent with previous gain-of-function studies which show Ihh can induce blood from ectoderm or expand HSCs in stroma-dependent culture.
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Several factors influence the erythrocyte production rate, with tissue oxygen level being among the most critical. Intense exercise or high altitudes can cause tissue hypoxia, which triggers the kidneys to release more erythropoietin (EPO) into the bloodstream.
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