Prostaglandin E 2 mediated effects on the synthesis of fetal and adult hemoglobin in blood erythroid bursts

Abstract

The effects of prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2) in association with erythropoietin on the synthesis of fetal and adult hemoglobin in peripheral blood-derived erythroid burst colonies from normal adults and from patients with sickle cell anemia were investigated. The synthesized hemoglobin at the end of 8, 14 or 18 days in culture was separated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography of 35S-methione labelled hemoglobin. Quantitative estimation of the synthesized hemoglobin phenotypes, for the three indicated culture periods, showed preferential synthesis of Hb F in addition to an overall increase in hemoglobin synthesis in PGE 2 treated colonies. Furthermore, the reactivation of fetal hemoglobin production by PGE 2 was more pronounced when the adherent cells were included in the culture dishes. These results indicate that the addition of PGE 2 to culture dishes presumably constitutes an environmental change to promote the functional seen in the blood erythroid bursts in terms of Hb synthesis and switching.