Erythropoietin

EPO
Available structures
PDB	Ortholog search: PDBe RCSB
List of PDB id codes
	1BUY, 1CN4, 1EER
Identifiers
Aliases	EPO, EP, MVCD2, erythropoietin, Erythropoietin, ECYT5, DBAL
External IDs	OMIM: 133170; MGI: 95407; HomoloGene: 624; GeneCards: EPO; OMA:EPO - orthologs
Gene location (Human)
Chr.	Chromosome 7 (human)
End	100,723,700 bp
Gene location (Mouse)
Chr.	Chromosome 5 (mouse)
End	137,531,504 bp
RNA expression pattern
	Top expressed in
	right lobe of liver; ; body of pancreas; ; canal of the cervix; ; ectocervix; ; muscle tissue; ; body of uterus; ; myometrium; ; seminal vesicula; ; mouth; ; human kidney;
	Top expressed in
	embryo; ; vasculature of trunk; ; blood vessel; ; embryo; ; spinal cord; ; sensory ganglion; ; great vessels; ; spinal ganglia; ; primitive streak; ; aorta;
	More reference expression data
	; ;
	More reference expression data
Gene ontology
Molecular function	hormone activity; protein kinase activator activity; protein binding; erythropoietin receptor binding; cytokine activity;
Cellular component	extracellular region; cell surface; cell body; extracellular space;
Biological process	erythrocyte maturation; negative regulation of cation channel activity; response to interleukin-1; response to hypoxia; negative regulation of intrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway in response to osmotic stress; response to nutrient; response to salt stress; negative regulation of erythrocyte apoptotic process; response to testosterone; regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II; response to hyperoxia; positive regulation of Ras protein signal transduction; ageing; negative regulation of apoptotic process; negative regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II; response to electrical stimulus; blood circulation; response to estrogen; cellular hyperosmotic response; positive regulation of transcription, DNA-templated; response to vitamin A; response to lipopolysaccharide; acute-phase response; peptidyl-serine phosphorylation; response to axon injury; hemoglobin biosynthetic process; positive regulation of neuron differentiation; positive regulation of cell population proliferation; regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter in response to hypoxia; positive regulation of ERK1 and ERK2 cascade; positive regulation of neuron projection development; negative regulation of calcium ion transport into cytosol; negative regulation of myeloid cell apoptotic process; activation of protein kinase activity; embryo implantation; signal transduction; positive regulation of activated T cell proliferation; positive regulation of protein kinase activity; negative regulation of neuron death; apoptotic process; response to dexamethasone; cell population proliferation; erythrocyte differentiation; erythropoietin-mediated signaling pathway; positive regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT protein; regulation of signaling receptor activity; positive regulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling;
	Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
	2056
	13856
	ENSG00000130427
	ENSMUSG00000029711
	P01588
	P07321
	NM_000799
	NM_007942; NM_001312875
	NP_000790
	NP_001299804; NP_031968
	Wikidata
View/Edit Human	View/Edit Mouse

Erythropoietin (/ɪˌrɪθroʊˈpɔɪ.ɪtɪn, -rə-, -pɔɪˈɛtɪn, -ˈiːtɪn/; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production (erythropoiesis) in the bone marrow. Low levels of EPO (around 10 mU/mL) are constantly secreted in sufficient quantities to compensate for normal red blood cell turnover. Common causes of cellular hypoxia resulting in elevated levels of EPO (up to 10 000 mU/mL) include any anemia, and hypoxemia due to chronic lung disease.

Erythropoietin is largely synthesized by fibroblast-like type-1 interstitial cells, located primarily in the deep renal cortex in close association with the peritubular capillaries and proximal convoluted tubule; it is also produced in perisinusoidal cells in the liver. Liver production predominates in the fetal and perinatal period; renal production predominates in adulthood. It is homologous with thrombopoietin.

Exogenous erythropoietin, recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO), is produced by recombinant DNA technology in cell culture and are collectively called erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA): two examples are epoetin alfa and epoetin beta. ESAs are used in the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease, anemia in myelodysplasia, and in anemia from cancer chemotherapy. Risks of therapy include death, myocardial infarction, stroke, venous thromboembolism, and tumor recurrence. Risk increases when EPO treatment raises hemoglobin levels over 11 g/dL to 12 g/dL: this is to be avoided.

rhEPO has been used illicitly as a performance-enhancing drug. It can often be detected in blood, due to slight differences from the endogenous protein; for example, in features of posttranslational modification.