Maintenance of red blood cell integrity by AMP-activated protein kinase α1 catalytic subunit

Foretz, Marc; Guihard, Soizic; Leclerc, Jocelyne; Fauveau, Véronique; Couty, Jean-Pierre; Andris, Fabienne; Gaudry, Murielle; Andreelli, Fabrizio; Vaulont, Sophie; Viollet, Benoit

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2010.07.041

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Volume 584, Issue 16 , Pages 3667-3671, 20 August 2010

Maintenance of red blood cell integrity by AMP-activated protein kinase α1 catalytic subunit

Edited by Beat Imhof

Marc Foretz
- Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR8104), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1016, Paris, France
Soizic Guihard
- Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR8104), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1016, Paris, France
Jocelyne Leclerc
- Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR8104), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1016, Paris, France
Véronique Fauveau
- Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR8104), Plate Forme de Microchirurgie, Faculté de Médecine Cochin, Paris, France
Jean-Pierre Couty
- Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR8104), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1016, Paris, France
Fabienne Andris
- Laboratoire de Physiologie Animale, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium
Murielle Gaudry
- Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR8104), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1016, Paris, France
Fabrizio Andreelli
- Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR8104), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1016, Paris, France
Sophie Vaulont
- Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR8104), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1016, Paris, France
Benoit Viollet
- Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR8104), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1016, Paris, France
- Corresponding author at: Institut Cochin, INSERM U1016, Université Paris Descartes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR8104), Paris, France. Fax: +33144412421.

Received 24 June 2010; received in revised form 20 July 2010; accepted 22 July 2010. published online 27 July 2010.

Abstract

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a pivotal role in regulating cellular energy metabolism. We previously showed that AMPKα1−/− mice develop moderate anemia associated with splenomegaly and high reticulocytosis. Here, we report that splenectomy of AMPKα1−/− mice worsened anemia supporting evidence that AMPKα1−/− mice developed a compensatory response through extramedullary erythropoiesis in the spleen. Transplantation of bone marrow from AMPKα1−/− mice into wild-type recipients recapitulated the hematologic phenotype. Further, AMPKα1−/− red blood cells (RBC) showed less deformability in response to shear stress limiting their membrane flexibility. Thus, our results highlight the crucial role of AMPK to preserve RBC integrity.

Keywords: AMPK, Red blood cell, Anemia, Membrane, Deformability, Animal model – knockout mice