Studies on the regulating mechanism of transferrin receptor expression in human erythroid cells

Part 2. Influence of intracellular hemoglobin on transferrin receptor expression

Abstract

To determine the influence of intracellular hemoglobin on the expression of transferrin receptors (TfRS) in human eryhtroid cells, a novel method was developed to measure cell morphology, cellular hemoglobin content, and the number of stainable iron granules and TfRs at the single-cell level. The relation between hemoglobin content and cell maturation was confirmed. There were no significant correlations between hemoglobin content and the number of stainable iron granules, or between hemoglobin concentration and the concentration of stainable iron granules. Although the number of TfRs was not related to cellular hemoglobin content, TfR density was negatively related with hemoglobin concentration (r=-0.71). These results suggest that hemoglobin concentration plays an important role in the expression of TfRs in human erythroid cells.