The results suggest that the autocrine and paracrine functions of Epo might play a role in malignant transformation of melanocytes and in the survival of melanoma cells in hypoxia and other adverse conditions.
Although the DN patients have inappropriately low EPO levels for the severity of their anaemia, they can mount an appropriate EPO response to moderate hypoxia.
Taken together, our in-vivo results do not support a gross modulatory effect of a short-term treatment with radical scavenging agents on EPO-production during or after hypoxia in humans, as derived from the detected changes of MDA-concentrations in peripheral plasma.
Serum erythropoietin concentration increased significantly from 9.5 +/- 3.51 to 33.6 +/- 11.64 U L(-1) (P < 0.05) after 2 days of hypoxia.Thereafter, s-[epo] decreased.