Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Revealing Neural Circuit Topography in Multi-Color
Published on: November 14, 2011
GATA/Heme Multi-omics Reveals a Trace Metal-Dependent Cellular Differentiation Mechanism
Nobuyuki Tanimura1, Ruiqi Liao1, Gary M Wilson2
1UW-Madison Blood Research Program, Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53705, USA; UW Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53705, USA.
Abstract:
By functioning as an enzyme cofactor, hemoglobin component, and gene regulator, heme is vital for life. One mode of heme-regulated transcription involves amplifying the activity of GATA-1, a key determinant of erythrocyte differentiation. To discover biological consequences of the metal cofactor-transcription factor mechanism, we merged GATA-1/heme-regulated sectors of the proteome and transcriptome. This multi-omic analysis revealed a GATA-1/heme circuit involving hemoglobin subunits, ubiquitination components, and proteins not implicated in erythrocyte biology, including the zinc exporter Slc30a1. Though GATA-1 induced expression of Slc30a1 and the zinc importer Slc39a8, Slc39a8 dominantly increased intracellular zinc, which conferred erythroblast survival. Subsequently, a zinc transporter switch, involving decreased importer and sustained exporter expression, reduced intracellular zinc during terminal differentiation. Downregulating Slc30a1 increased intracellular zinc and, strikingly, accelerated differentiation. This analysis established a conserved paradigm in which a GATA-1/heme circuit controls trace metal transport machinery and trace metal levels as a mechanism governing cellular differentiation.
Related Concept Videos
Cellular Differentiation
A zygote is a...
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Metallic Solids
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability....
Bonding in Metals
Alkali Metals
Table 1: Properties of the alkali metals
Properties of Transition Metals

