Review reveals non-erythroid metabolic and tissue-protective actions of erythropoietin in animal models, highlighting its pleiotropic potential beyond red blood cell production.
Key Points
To review the broad physiological, tissue-protective, and metabolic roles of erythropoietin and its receptor beyond classical bone marrow erythropoiesis.
Synthesis of findings from animal and in vitro cell models examining erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) expression and signaling in non-erythroid tissues.
Evaluation of exogenous erythropoietin administration on ischemic recovery, adipose tissue inflammation, obesity, and bone remodeling.
EPOR activation in neural cells, endothelial cells, and skeletal muscle myoblasts promotes cell survival and tissue repair during ischemic stress in non-hematopoietic organs.
In diet-induced obese mice, erythropoietin reduces white adipose tissue inflammation and limits fat accumulation in males, though this metabolic benefit is masked by estrogen in females.
Erythropoietin administration reduces bone mass and suppresses bone morphogenetic protein, indicating that excess hormone inhibits osteogenesis and adipogenesis in bone marrow stromal cells.