The role of the pRB/E2F pathway in erythropoiesis and cell cycle control

循环中的血液包含两种主要类型的细胞。红血球为我们体内的所有细胞提供生存所需的氧气，而白血球则保护我们的身体免受外来生物的入侵。血液中这些细胞数量的平衡是一个精心调控的过程，当受到干扰时，可能会导致一些危及生命的血液疾病。不受控制的血细胞过度生长会导致一种特殊类型的癌症，称为白血病。相比之下，当红细胞数量不足时，大脑和其他重要器官的细胞就没有足够的氧气，从而导致一种称为贫血的情况。我们已经通过基因工程培育出一种缺乏E2F4蛋白质的小鼠，它不能产生足够的红细胞，并患有贫血。这种名为E2F4的蛋白质控制着决定细胞开始或停止生长和繁殖的关键基因。因此，E2F4缺陷小鼠提供了一种新的强大的模型，以了解红细胞数量紊乱可导致白血病等疾病和其他血液疾病的机制。识别E2F4控制的基因可能为开发抗击这些疾病的治疗药物提供新的靶点。

Circulating blood contains two major types of cells. Red blood cells supply the oxygen required by all cells in our body to survive and white blood cells protect our body from invasion by foreign organisms. The balance in the number of these cells in our blood is a carefully regulated process which, when disturbed, can lead to a number of life-threatening blood diseases. Uncontrolled overgrowth of blood cells results in a particular type of cancer known as leukaemia. In contrast, when there is an insufficient number of red blood cells, not enough oxygen reaches cells from the brain and other vital organs and results in a condition known as anaemia. We have genetically engineered a mouse that lack the protein known as E2F4 and is unable to produce enough red blood cells and suffers from anaemia. This protein, E2F4, controls genes essential for the decision of cells to start or stop growing and multiplying. The E2F4-deficient mice therefore provide a new and powerful model to understand the mechanism by which disturbance of red blood cell numbers can lead to diseases such as leukaemia and other diseases of the blood. Identification of the genes controlled by E2F4 may provide new targets for the development of therapeutic drugs to combat these diseases.