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Abstract We report in this study that the DNA-binding drug Mithramycin is a potent inducer of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) production in erythroid cells from healthy human subjects and - thalassemia patients. Erythroid precursors derived from peripheral blood were grown in 2-phase liquid culture. In this procedure, early erythroid progenitors proliferate and differentiate during phase 1 (in the absence of erythropoietin) into late progenitors. In phase 2, in the presence of erythropoietin, the latter cells continue their proliferation and mature into Hb-containing orthochromatic normoblasts. Compounds were added on days 4 to 5 of phase 2 (when cells started to synthesize Hb), and cells were harvested on day 12. |