Anemia affects 10% of Americans over age 65 and is associated with cognitive impairment, increased morbidity, and mortality. In 25% of these patients, anemia can be attributed to chronic inflammation, while in 33% the etiology has been unexplained. Inappropriately elevated levels of hepcidin, a transcriptionally regulated peptide hormone, have been proposed as the cause of anemia of chronic inflammation (ACI), while the causes of unexplained anemia (UA) are unknown. Due to their low cost and hematologic similarities to humans, we are utilizing the zebrafish as a model organism to identify small molecules and genes involved in the regulation of hepcidin expression and erythropoieisis. The goal of our research is to develop new treatment and prevention strategies for chronic anemia.
Dooley KA, Fraenkel PG, Langer NB, Schmid B, Davidson AJ, Weber G, Chiang K, Foott H, Dwyer C, Wingert RA, Zhou Y, Paw BH, Zon LI, Tübingen 2000 Screen Consortium. Montalcino, A zebrafish model for variegate porphyria. Experimental Hematology 2008 (36:1132-1142).
Fraenkel, P.G., Traver, D., Donovan, A., Zahrieh, D., Zon, L.I. Requirement of ferroportin1 for normal iron cycling in the zebrafish. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2005 (115:1532-1541).
Wingert, R.A., Brownlie, A., Galloway, J.L., Dooley, K., Fraenkel, P., Axe, J.L., Davidson, A.J., Barut, B., Noriega, L., Sheng, X., et al. The chianti zebrafish mutant provides a model for erythroid-specific disruption of transferrin receptor 1. Development. 2004 (131:6225-6235).
Fraenkel, P.G., Rutkove, S.B., Matheson, J.K., Fowkes, M., Cannon, M.E., Patti, M.E., Atkins, M.B., Gollob, J.A. Induction of myasthenia gravis, myositis, and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus by high-dose interleukin-2 in a patient with renal cell cancer. Journal of Immunotherapy. 2002 (25:373-378).
External Recognition:
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship; Amgen Fellowship; ASH Scholar Award; K08 grant: Genetic Analysis of Iron Homeostasis from NIDDK; oral presentations: First International Bioiron Society Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic, May 23-27, 2005; National Meeting of the Red Cell Club, Boston, MA, October 28, 2007; Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology, Atlanta, GA, December 10, 2007.
