Our research focuses on blood formation, or hematopoiesis, with a major emphasis on the development of red blood cells (erythropoiesis). Defects in the production, structure and/or function of red blood cells, the oxygen-carrying cells of the body, lead to anemia. Anemia affects about 1.6 billion people worldwide, imposing an enormous burden on medical resources. We use the mouse as a model system to elucidate the genetic basis of human inherited anemias, which include defects in iron and heme metabolism and transport, sickle cell disease, bone marrow failure and the anemia of aging. Mice are an excellent model system in which to pursue these studies for many reasons. Blood formation in mice and humans is remarkably similar, and mice get the same types of anemias due to the same underlying genetic causes as humans’. Identifying the genes that go awry to produce anemia is the first step in developing new therapeutics for its prevention and treatment. We study both single-gene (Mendelian) defects and complex, polygenic phenotypes that arise from natural genetic variation in inbred strains and other reference mouse populations. We utilize the most state-of-the- art genetic techniques in both genotype- and phenotype-driven approaches to identify and functionally analyze genes critical to erythropoiesis and red cell structure, function and survival.

Selected Publications

• Stefanini L, Paul DS, Robledo RF, Chan ER, Getz TM, Campbell RA, Kechele DO, Casari C, Piatt R, Caron KM, Mackman N, Weyrich AS, Parrott MC, Boulaftali Y, Adams MD, Peters LL, Bergmeier W. 2015. The RAG-GAP RASA3 is a critical inhibitor of platelet activation. J Clin Invest. 125(4):1419-32, 2015.
• Lee H-Y, Gao X, Barrasa MI, Li H, Elmes RR, Peters LL, Lodish HF. 2015. PPARa and glucocorticoid receptor synergize to promote erythroid progenitor self-renewal. Nature. 144(3):430-440, 2017.
• Lee BP, Pilling LC, Emond F, Flurkey K, Harrison DE, Yuan R, Peters LL, Kuchel G, Ferrucci L, Melzer D, Harries LW. 2016. Changes in the expression of splicing factor transcripts and alterations to alternative splicing are associated with lifespan in mice and humans. Aging Cell. 15(5):903-13, 2016.
• van Rooij FJ, Qayyum R, Smith AV, Zhou Y, Trompet S, Tanaka T, Keller MF, Chang LC, Schmidt H, Yang ML, Chen MH, Hayes J, Johnson AD, Yanek LR, Mueller C, Lange L, Floyd JS, Ghanbari M, Zonderman AB, Jukema JW, Hofman A, van Duijn CM, Desch KC, Saba Y, Ozel AB, Snively BM, Wu JY, Schmidt R, Fornage M, Klein RJ, Fox CS, Matsuda K, Kamatani N, Wild PS, Stott DJ, Ford I, Slagboom PE, Yang J, Chu AY, Lambert AJ, Uitterlinden AG, Franco OH, Hofer E, Ginsburg D, Hu B, Keating B, Schick UM, Brody JA, Li JZ, Chen Z, Zeller T, Guralnik JM, Chasman DI, Peters LL, Kubo M, Becker DM, Li J, Eiriksdottir G, Rotter JI, Levy D, Grossmann V, Patel KV, Chen CH; BioBank Japan Project., Ridker PM, Tang H, Launer LJ, Rice KM, Li-Gao R, Ferrucci L, Evans MK, Choudhuri A, Trompouki E, Abraham BJ, Yang S, Takahashi A, Kamatani Y, Kooperberg C, Harris TB, Jee SH, Coresh J, Tsai FJ, Longo DL, Chen YT, Felix JF, Yang Q, Psaty BM, Boerwinkle E, Becker LC, Mook-Kanamori DO, Wilson JG, Gudnason V, O’Donnell CJ, Dehghan A, Cupples LA, Nalls MA, Morris AP, Okada Y, Reiner AP, Zon LI, Ganesh SK. 2017. Genome-wide Trans-ethnic Meta-analysis Identifies Seven Genetic Loci Influencing Erythrocyte Traits and a Role for RBPMS in Erythropoiesis. Am J Hum Genet . 100(1):51-63, 2017.
• Gillinder KR, Ilsley MD, Nebor D, Sachidanandam R, Lajoie M, Magor GW, Tallack MR, Bailey T, Landsberg MJ, Mackay JP, Parker MW, Miles LA, Graber JH, Peters LL, Bieker JJ, Perkins AC. 2017. Promiscuous DNA-binding of a mutant zinc finger protein corrupts the transcriptome and diminishes cell viability. Nucleic Acids Res. 2016.
• Planutis A, XueL, Trainor CD, Dangeti M, Gillinder K, SiateckaM, Nebor D, Peters LL, Perkins AC, BiekerJJ. 2017. Neomorphic effects by the neonatal anemia (Nan-Eklf) mutation contribute to deficits throughout development. Development . 144(3):430-440, 2017.
• Lee BP, Buric I, George-PandethA, FlurkeyK, HarrisonDE, YuanR, PetersLL, Kuchel GA, MelzerD, HarriesLW. 2017. MicroRNAs miR-203-3p, miR-664-3p and miR-708-5p are associated with median strain lifespan in mice. Sci Rep. 7:44620, 2017.