Research led by Drs Suzanne Randle and Heike Laman has been published in the Journal of Pathology this month. This work, funded by the BBSRC, identified a role for Fbxo7 in regulating the cell cycle during erythrocyte differentiation.
During erythrocyte differentiation, Fbxo7 stabilised expression of the cell cycle inhibitor p27, and without correct regulation of these proteins, as demonstrated in mice lacking Fbxo7 protein, fewer red blood cells were produced, resulting in anaemia. In addition, Dr Randle was able to link this mechanism to recent genome wide association studies, which identified Fbxo7 as being associated with clinical red blood cell parameters in humans. This work identified a previously unknown and important function for Fbxo7 in red blood cell development