Research on, and interest in, red blood cell formation spans several centuries and was thought to have peaked in the 1980s with the cloning of the eryth- poietin (EPO) gene. In the years subsequent to the cloning of EPO and its expression as a recombinant protein, much was written about EPO. Although much has been learned and published, new, exciting data are becoming ava- able on almost a daily basis. Erythropoietins and Erythropoiesis: Molecular, Cellular, Preclinical, and Clinical Biology compiles both pertinent historical and very recent research on this molecule and its clinical utility. The book is divided into two sections: Background and Basic Science and Clinical Uses of Recombinant Erythropoietins. To begin, Israels and Israels describe the biology of red cells, the hierarchy of erythropoietic progenitor cells, their development to mature cells, and the effects of endogenous EPO on their development. Foote summarizes the historical interest in, and search for, an erythropoietic factor. Once EPO was identified,cloned,and expressed,the path was set for the study of other aspects of EPO biology both within e- thropoiesis and other cellular systems.

Background and basic science.- Erythropoiesis: an overview.- Studies of erythropoiesis and the discovery and cloning of recombinant human erythropoietin.- Structural basis for the signal transduction of erythropoietin.- Molecular biology of the erythropoietin receptor in hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic tissues.- Erythropoietin receptor signaling processes.- Clinical pharmacokinetic properties of rHuEPO: a review.- Biology of erythropoietin.- Commercial production of recombinant erythropoietins.- Clinical use of recombinant erythropoietins.- Use of recombinant erythropoietins in the setting of renal disease.- Erythropoietic therapy in the practice of oncology.- Use of recombinant erythropoietins for the treatment of anemia of chronic disease.- Use of erythropoietins in the surgical setting.- Abuse of recombinant erythropoietins by athletes.- Antibodies to endogenous and recombinant erythropoietin.- New molecules and formulations of recombinant human erythropoietin.