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Cellular Zinc Deficiency Impairs Heme Biosynthesis In Developing Erythroid Progenitors, Juyoung Kim, Jaekwon Lee, Moon-Suhn Ryu

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Anemia is the most prevalent nutrition-related disorder worldwide. Zinc is an essential trace element for various biological processes in the body, and zinc deficiency has been associated with anemia in humans. However, the molecular mechanisms by which zinc availability alters red blood cell development remain uncertain. The present study identifies the essentiality of zinc during erythroid development, particularly for normal heme biosynthesis. G1E-ER4 mouse cells were used as an in vitro model of terminal erythroid differentiation, which featured elevated cellular zinc content by development. Restriction of zinc import compromised the rate of heme and -globin production and, thus, the hemoglobinization …