The role of iron and CD71 in the regulation of neutrophil maturation
Description
Iron plays a key role in neutrophil extracellular trap formation and in neutrophil’s anti-microbial effect. CD71, a transferrin receptor on red blood cells known to facilitate iron uptake, was found to be expressed on the earliest committed human neutrophil progenitor. The role iron metabolism plays in neutrophil maturation is currently unknown. To examine if iron, and its incorporation into the cell mediated by CD71, is essential to complete neutrophil maturation, CD71 was neutralized by antibody injection in an experimental group of mice and compared to an isotype control group. Bone marrow, blood and spleen tissue samples were analyzed to identify neutrophil populations in varying states of maturity through flow cytometry. Following CD71 neutralization, the frequency of immature neutrophil populations in the bone marrow and spleen were significantly decreased while the frequency of mature neutrophils was significantly increased. These results suggest that blocking iron uptake into the cell does have a significant impact on neutrophil development. Next steps to examine the effects of CD71 neutralization in mice with tumors could help identify a potential therapy to inhibit tumor growth.
Citation Information
Schweizer, Alexis; Keith, Lauren; Maheshwari, Dheer; Schroeder, Carolyn; and Meyer, Melissa A., "The role of iron and CD71 in the regulation of neutrophil maturation" (2026). Office of Research DMU Research Symposium. 91.
https://digitalcommons.dmu.edu/researchsymposium/2025rs/2025abstracts/91
The role of iron and CD71 in the regulation of neutrophil maturation
Iron plays a key role in neutrophil extracellular trap formation and in neutrophil’s anti-microbial effect. CD71, a transferrin receptor on red blood cells known to facilitate iron uptake, was found to be expressed on the earliest committed human neutrophil progenitor. The role iron metabolism plays in neutrophil maturation is currently unknown. To examine if iron, and its incorporation into the cell mediated by CD71, is essential to complete neutrophil maturation, CD71 was neutralized by antibody injection in an experimental group of mice and compared to an isotype control group. Bone marrow, blood and spleen tissue samples were analyzed to identify neutrophil populations in varying states of maturity through flow cytometry. Following CD71 neutralization, the frequency of immature neutrophil populations in the bone marrow and spleen were significantly decreased while the frequency of mature neutrophils was significantly increased. These results suggest that blocking iron uptake into the cell does have a significant impact on neutrophil development. Next steps to examine the effects of CD71 neutralization in mice with tumors could help identify a potential therapy to inhibit tumor growth.
