Erythrocyte survival is controlled by microRNA-142
Natalia Rivkin,
Elik Chapnik,
Alexander Mildner,
Gregory Barshtein,
Ziv Porat,
Elena Kartvelishvily,
Tali Dadosh,
Yehudit Birger,
Gail Amir,
Saul Yedgar,
Shai Izraeli,
Steffen Jung,
Eran Hornstein
Affiliations
Natalia Rivkin
Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Elik Chapnik
Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Alexander Mildner
Department of Immunology Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Gregory Barshtein
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hebrew university, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
Ziv Porat
Flow Cytometry Unit, Life Sciences Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Elena Kartvelishvily
Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Tali Dadosh
Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Yehudit Birger
Functional Genomics and Leukemic Research, Cancer Research Center, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
Gail Amir
Department of Pathology, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
Saul Yedgar
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hebrew university, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
Shai Izraeli
Functional Genomics and Leukemic Research, Cancer Research Center, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel;Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Tel Aviv University, Jerusalem, Israel
Steffen Jung
Department of Immunology Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Eran Hornstein
Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Hematopoietic–specific microRNA-142 is a critical regulator of various blood cell lineages, but its role in erythrocytes is unexplored. Herein, we characterize the impact of microRNA-142 on erythrocyte physiology and molecular cell biology, using a mouse loss-of-function allele. We report that microRNA-142 is required for maintaining the typical erythrocyte biconcave shape and structural resilience, for the normal metabolism of reactive oxygen species, and for overall lifespan. microRNA-142 further controls ACTIN filament homeostasis and membrane skeleton organization. The analyses presented reveal previously unappreciated functions of microRNA-142 and contribute to an emerging view of small RNAs as key players in erythropoiesis. Finally, the work herein demonstrates how a housekeeping network of cytoskeletal regulators can be reshaped by a single micro-RNA denominator in a cell type specific manner.
