New Insights into the Mechanisms of Mammalian Erythroid Chromatin Condensation and Enucleation

A unique feature in mammalian erythropoiesis is the dramatic chromatin condensation followed by enucleation. This step-by-step process starts at the beginning of terminal erythropoiesis after the hematopoietic stem cells are committed to erythroid lineage. Although this phenomenon is known for decades, the mechanisms of chromatin condensation and enucleation remain elusive. Recent advances in cell and molecular biology have started to reveal the molecular pathways in the regulation of chromatin condensation, the establishment of nuclear polarity prior enucleation, and the rearrangement of actin cytoskeleton in enucleation. However, many challenging questions, especially whether and how the apoptotic mechanisms are involved in chromatin condensation and how to dissect the functions of many actin cytoskeleton proteins in cytokinesis and enucleation, remain to be answered. Here I review our current understanding of mammalian erythroid chromatin condensation and enucleation during terminal differentiation with a focus on more recent studies. I conclude with my perspective of future works in this rising topic in developmental and cell biology.