From stem cell to erythroblast: regulation of red cell production at multiple levels by multiple hormones

This article reviews the regulation of production of red blood cells at several levels: (1) the ability of erythropoietin and adhesion to a fibronectin matrix to stimulate the rapid production of red cells by inducing terminal proliferation and differentiation of committed erythroid CFU-E progenitors; (2) the regulated expansion of the pool of earlier BFU-E erythroid progenitors by glucocorticoids and other factors that occurs during chronic anemia or inflammation; and (3) the expansion of thehematopoietic cell pool to produce more progenitors of all hematopoietic lineages.