An in vivo analysis of c-myc and c-fos expression during terminal erythroid differentiation in mouse spleen progenitors

Using thiamphenicol and scheduled bleeding, we were able to induce an adequate number of erythroid stem cells (CFU-e) in mice in order to conduct an in vivo study of the changing expression of c-myc and c-fos oncogenes during erythropoiesis. Results indicated that c-myc and c-fos are active in erythropoiesis and have a similar pattern of expression. A large decrease in expression of both c-myc and c-fos occurs when erythroid cells begin the biochemical transition into mature phenotypes, i.e., when RNA synthesis is down-regulated.