An Erythropoietin-Independent Mechanism of Erythrocytic Precursor Proliferation Underlies Hypoxia Tolerance in Sea Nomads.

ABSTRACT: The Bajau Sea Nomads were recently demonstrated to have evolved larger spleens as an adaptation to millennia of a marine foraging lifestyle. The large-spleen phenotype appears to derive from increases in thyroid hormone (TH) production as a result of reduced expression of phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A), though the exact mechanism remains unknown. Through pharmacological inhibition of PDE10A using the selective inhibitor MP-10 in mice, we were able to mimic the Bajau adaptation and show that treated mice had significantly larger spleens than control animals. This difference appears connected to an excess of early stage erythrocytes and an apparent increase in red blood cell (RBC) precursor proliferation in response to increased TH. However, we determined that the stimulation of RBC producti

SUBMITTER: Ilardo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8846933 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature