Stimulation of Fetal Hemoglobin Synthesis by Erythropoietin in Baboons

Abstract
Stimulating the production of fetal hemoglobin may benefit patients with sickle cell anemia by inhibiting sickling. We gave pulsed treatments with high doses of recombinant human erythropoietin to baboons in order to test the hypothesis that the resultant rapid erythroid regeneration would stimulate F cells — i.e., cells that contain fetal hemoglobin.