Autocrine stimulation by erythropoietin (Epo) requires Epo secretion.

Erythropoietin (Epo) autocrine stimulation has been implicated in erythroblastic leukemia. To examine whether this stimulation could occur intracellularly, we developed Epo autocrine models of stimulation in the human pluripotent UT-7 cell line. Retroviral expression of Epo totally abolished the growth factor requirement of UT-7 cells. Autonomous proliferation was not cell density-dependent and occurred at a unicellular level, showing a genuine autocrine mode of stimulation. Total blockage of Epo secretion induced by the endoplasmic reticulum-retention amino acids Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu (KDEL) signals in 11 lines prevented autonomous proliferation, whereas a leaky retention system, observed in 3 other lines, resulted in limited autocrine stimulation without true long-term autonomous proliferation. Production of Epo, in contrast to KDEL-modified Epo, induced reductions in Epo binding, Epo receptor (EpoR) mRNA, and phosphorylation levels similar to those induced by the addition of exogenous Epo to the parental cell line. In addition, autonomous growth and survival were inhibited by the addition of Epo-neutralizing antibodies, affording evidence that autocrine stimulation through EpoR activation takes place on the cell surface. Finally, phenotypic analysis of the virus-infected clones indicated that Epo production did not change the differentiative capacities of UT-7 cells. All these data show that Epo autocrine stimulation is dependent on Epo secretion and takes place on the cell surface. From all analyzed parameters, the effects of Epo autocrine stimulation and those of exogenously added Epo appear to be identical.