Library · Molecule
Erythropoietin
Make it clearer
Erythropoietin, which many people know as EPO, is a hormone. And a hormone is a chemical message that one organ releases into the blood to give an order to another one. This message is sent by the kidney, and the order is: make more red blood cells.
It is produced by cells that live between the tubules of the kidney, in the renal cortex, which is its outer layer. The clever part is how they know when to do it. Inside those cells there is a molecular sentry called HIF that is destroyed as long as oxygen is plentiful; when oxygen runs short, it stops being destroyed, builds up and switches on the erythropoietin gene. Erythropoietin, then, is the order the blood factory receives whenever oxygen is scarce.
And out of that comes something that surprises a lot of people: when the kidney becomes chronically diseased, it sends less of that message. A lack of erythropoietin is a hallmark of kidney disease, and it is the main cause of the anemia that goes with it.
In brief
Erythropoietin is the hormone the kidney uses to control red blood cell production.
It is made by peritubular interstitial cells in the renal cortex, and when oxygen runs low the HIF factor is stabilized and drives transcription of the erythropoietin gene.
An order the blood factory receives when oxygen runs short.
That is why an erythropoietin deficiency is a hallmark of kidney disease and the main cause of the anemia that goes with it.
Sources (2)
- SEER Training Modules, National Cancer InstituteIntroduction to the Urinary System, SEER Training Modules
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAnemia of Chronic Kidney Disease, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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