Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (681 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Immature, nucleated erythrocytes occupying the stage of erythropoiesis that follows formation of erythroid precursor cells and precedes formation of reticulocytes. The normal series is called normoblasts. Cells called megaloblasts are a pathologic series of erythroblasts.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Erythroblast; Erythrocytes, Nucleated; Erythrocyte, Nucleated; Nucleated Erythrocyte; Nucleated Erythrocytes; Proerythroblasts; Proerythroblast; Normoblasts.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Erythroid Precursor Cells
- Narrower topics
- Megaloblasts
Related concepts
- Erythrocytes
- Erythropoiesis
- Erythroid Precursor Cells
- Reticulocytes
- Megaloblasts
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 4,304 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Erythroblasts” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 321 of them (7.5%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 2,635 records.
Reviews account for 216 records (5.0%) and meta-analyses for 0. Randomized controlled trials number 6 (0.1%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 2,635 |
| 2000-2009 | 674 |
| 2010-2019 | 674 |
| 2020 onward | 321 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 216 | 5.0% |
| Meta-analyses | 0 | 0.0% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 6 | 0.1% |
Method: PubMed query "Erythroblasts"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in anatomy and physiology
Anatomy describes how body structures are built and physiology describes how they normally work, so most findings here are descriptive or mechanistic rather than evidence about treatment. Much of what is known comes from dissection, imaging, tissue studies and experiments in animals, and measurements in healthy volunteers can differ from those in people with disease or at different ages. Normal ranges vary between individuals and populations. Check whether a result was measured in people or in another species, the age and health of the participants, and the method used.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| An immortalized adult human erythroid line facilitates sustainable and scalable generation of functional red cells | 2017 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 171 | cc by PMID 28290447 · DOI · PMC5355882 |
| Genetic programming of macrophages generates an in vitro model for the human erythroid island niche | 2019 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 53 | cc by PMID 30787325 · DOI · PMC6382809 |
| Allele-specific genome-wide profiling in human primary erythroblasts reveal replication program organization | 2014 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 50 | cc0 PMID 24787348 · DOI · PMC4006724 |
| Dynamics of microcompartment formation at the mitosis-to-G1 transition | 2025 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 27 | cc by PMID 41107486 · DOI · PMC12700819 |
An immortalized adult human erythroid line facilitates sustainable and scalable generation of functional red cells [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- With increasing worldwide demand for safe blood, there is much interest in generating red blood cells in vitro as an alternative clinical product.
- Closing excerpt
- We demonstrate a feasible approach to the manufacture of red cells for clinical use from in vitro culture.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (143 words)
With increasing worldwide demand for safe blood, there is much interest in generating red blood cells in vitro as an alternative clinical product. However, available methods for in vitro generation of red cells from adult and cord blood progenitors do not yet provide a sustainable supply, and current systems using pluripotent stem cells as progenitors do not generate viable red cells. We have taken an alternative approach, immortalizing early adult erythroblasts generating a stable line, which provides a continuous supply of red cells. The immortalized cells differentiate efficiently into mature, functional reticulocytes that can be isolated by filtration. Extensive characterization has not revealed any differences between these reticulocytes and in vitro-cultured adult reticulocytes functionally or at the molecular level, and importantly no aberrant protein expression. We demonstrate a feasible approach to the manufacture of red cells for clinical use from in vitro culture.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 28290447 · DOI · PMC5355882
Genetic programming of macrophages generates an in vitro model for the human erythroid island niche [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Red blood cells mature within the erythroblastic island (EI) niche that consists of specialized macrophages surrounded by differentiating erythroblasts.
- Closing excerpt
- Our study thus contributes to the ultimate goal of replacing blood transfusion with a manufactured product.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (151 words)
Red blood cells mature within the erythroblastic island (EI) niche that consists of specialized macrophages surrounded by differentiating erythroblasts. Here we establish an in vitro system to model the human EI niche using macrophages that are derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and are also genetically programmed to an EI-like phenotype by inducible activation of the transcription factor, KLF1. These EI-like macrophages increase the production of mature, enucleated erythroid cells from umbilical cord blood derived CD34+ haematopoietic progenitor cells and iPSCs; this enhanced production is partially retained even when the contact between progenitor cells and macrophages is inhibited, suggesting that KLF1-induced secreted proteins may be involved in this enhancement. Lastly, we find that the addition of three secreted factors, ANGPTL7, IL-33 and SERPINB2, significantly enhances the production of mature enucleated red blood cells. Our study thus contributes to the ultimate goal of replacing blood transfusion with a manufactured product.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 30787325 · DOI · PMC6382809
Allele-specific genome-wide profiling in human primary erythroblasts reveal replication program organization [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- We have developed a new approach to characterize allele-specific timing of DNA replication genome-wide in human primary basophilic erythroblasts.
- Closing excerpt
- Asynchronous regions were richer in origins of replication than synchronous regions.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (234 words)
We have developed a new approach to characterize allele-specific timing of DNA replication genome-wide in human primary basophilic erythroblasts. We show that the two chromosome homologs replicate at the same time in about 88% of the genome and that large structural variants are preferentially associated with asynchronous replication. We identified about 600 megabase-sized asynchronously replicated domains in two tested individuals. The longest asynchronously replicated domains are enriched in imprinted genes suggesting that structural variants and parental imprinting are two causes of replication asynchrony in the human genome. Biased chromosome X inactivation in one of the two individuals tested was another source of detectable replication asynchrony. Analysis of high-resolution TimEX profiles revealed small variations termed timing ripples, which were undetected in previous, lower resolution analyses. Timing ripples reflect highly reproducible, variations of the timing of replication in the 100 kb-range that exist within the well-characterized megabase-sized replication timing domains. These ripples correspond to clusters of origins of replication that we detected using novel nascent strands DNA profiling methods. Analysis of the distribution of replication origins revealed dramatic differences in initiation of replication frequencies during S phase and a strong association, in both synchronous and asynchronous regions, between origins of replication and three genomic features: G-quadruplexes, CpG Islands and transcription start sites. The frequency of initiation in asynchronous regions was similar in the two homologs. Asynchronous regions were richer in origins of replication than synchronous regions.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc0 licence; © the authors. PMID 24787348 · DOI · PMC4006724
Dynamics of microcompartment formation at the mitosis-to-G1 transition [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- As cells exit mitosis and enter G1, chromosomes decompact and transcription is reestablished.
- Closing excerpt
- Our results suggest that compaction and homotypic affinity drive microcompartment formation, which may explain transient transcriptional spiking at mitotic exit.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (153 words)
As cells exit mitosis and enter G1, chromosomes decompact and transcription is reestablished. Hi-C studies have indicated that all interphase three-dimensional genome features, including A/B compartments, topologically associating domains and CCCTC-binding factor loops, are lost during mitosis. However, Hi-C is insensitive to features such as microcompartments, nested focal interactions between cis-regulatory elements. Here we apply region capture Micro-C to mouse erythroblasts from mitosis to G1. We unexpectedly observe microcompartments in prometaphase, which strengthen in anaphase and telophase before weakening throughout G1. Microcompartment anchors coincide with transcriptionally spiking promoters during mitosis. Loss of condensin loop extrusion differentially impacts microcompartments and A/B compartments, suggesting that they are partially distinct. Polymer modeling shows that microcompartment formation is favored by chromatin compaction and disfavored by loop extrusion, providing a basis for strong microcompartmentalization in anaphase and telophase. Our results suggest that compaction and homotypic affinity drive microcompartment formation, which may explain transient transcriptional spiking at mitotic exit.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41107486 · DOI · PMC12700819
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Erythroblastic islands: niches for erythropoiesis [5]
- Research article Nucleated red blood cells in the fetus and newborn [6]
- Research article The erythroblastic island [7]
- Research article Erythroferrone structure, function, and physiology: Iron homeostasis and beyond [8]
- Research article Erythroblastic islands: specialized microenvironmental niches for erythropoiesis [9]
- Research article Three neglected numbers in the CBC: The RDW, MPV, and NRBC count [10]
References
- Trakarnsanga K, Griffiths RE, Wilson MC, Blair A, Satchwell TJ, Meinders M, et al.. An immortalized adult human erythroid line facilitates sustainable and scalable generation of functional red cells. . 2017. PMID 28290447 · DOI · PMC5355882
- Lopez-Yrigoyen M, Yang CT, Fidanza A, Cassetta L, Taylor AH, McCahill A, et al.. Genetic programming of macrophages generates an in vitro model for the human erythroid island niche. . 2019. PMID 30787325 · DOI · PMC6382809
- Mukhopadhyay R, Lajugie J, Fourel N, Selzer A, Schizas M, Bartholdy B, et al.. Allele-specific genome-wide profiling in human primary erythroblasts reveal replication program organization. . 2014. PMID 24787348 · DOI · PMC4006724
- Goel VY, Aboreden NG, Jusuf JM, Zhang H, Mori LP, Mirny LA, et al.. Dynamics of microcompartment formation at the mitosis-to-G1 transition. . 2025. PMID 41107486 · DOI · PMC12700819
- Chasis JA, Mohandas N. Erythroblastic islands: niches for erythropoiesis. Blood. 2008. PMID 18650462 · DOI · PMC2481536
- Hermansen MC. Nucleated red blood cells in the fetus and newborn. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2001. PMID 11320052 · DOI · PMC1721260
- Manwani D, Bieker JJ. The erythroblastic island. Curr Top Dev Biol. 2008. PMID 18282516 · DOI · PMC3234703
- Srole DN, Ganz T. Erythroferrone structure, function, and physiology: Iron homeostasis and beyond. J Cell Physiol. 2021. PMID 33372284 · DOI · PMC8026552
- Chasis JA. Erythroblastic islands: specialized microenvironmental niches for erythropoiesis. Curr Opin Hematol. 2006. PMID 16567955 · DOI
- May JE, Marques MB, Reddy VVB, Gangaraju R. Three neglected numbers in the CBC: The RDW, MPV, and NRBC count. Cleve Clin J Med. 2019. PMID 30849034 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.