XPO1 (Exportin-1) Is a Major Regulator of Human Erythroid Differentiation. Potential Clinical Applications to Decrease Ineffective Erythropoiesis of Beta-Thalassemia

Abstract Background We and others have shown that normal human erythroid cell maturation requires a transient activation of caspase-3 at late stages of maturation (Zermati et al, J Exp Med 2001). We further documented that, in human erythroblasts, the chaperone HSP70 is constitutively expressed and, at late stages of maturation, translocates into the nucleus and protects GATA-1, the master transcriptional factor critical for erythropoiesis, from caspase-3 cleavage (Ribeil et al, Nature 2007). During the maturation of human β-TM erythroblasts, HSP70 is sequestrated by excess of α-globin chains in the cytoplasm and as a consequence, GATA-1 is no longer protected from caspase-3 cleavage result…