The regulation of heme biosynthesis during erythropoietin-induced erythroid differentiation

Marrow cells induced toward erythroid differentiation by treatment with erythropoietin respond by increasing the rates of iron uptake and hemoglobin synthesis. Study of the enzymes of heme biosynthesis during erythroid differentiation suggests that induction of heme synthesis in these cells is regulated by synthesis of porphobilinogen deaminase. The activities of delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase, gamma, delta-dioxovaleric acid transaminase, delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase, and ferrochelatase were not affected significantly by treatment of suppressed marrow cells with erythropoietin over a period of 4 days, whereas that of porphobilinogen deaminase was increased by as much as 3.5-fold by the 3rd day of incubation. The time course of increase in porphobilinogen deaminase activity was parallel to that of the increase in heme synthesis. Moreover, when porphobilinogen deaminase activity was compared in marrow cells exposed to increased levels of erythropoietin in vivo (hyperplastic marrow) and marrow cells exposed to lowered levels of erythropoietin in vivo (suppressed marrow), the activity in the former case was greater than that in normal cells and for the latter type of cell it was lower than normal. Experiments using actinomycin D and cycloheximide suggest that transcription is required for the erythropoietin-induced porphobilinogen deaminase activity, indicating that induction is probably at the level of de novo synthesis of enzyme.