Fig. 4

Imbalanced iron metabolism, increased ferroptosis gene expressions and morphological changes in early-stage MDS erythroid progenitors. A–D NHD13 mice exhibit dysregulation of iron metabolism markers in early stage of the disease (n = 10–12 per group). E–G Observations reveal changes in the expression of multiple ferroptosis-related genes (n = 3–5 per group). H Ultrastructural analysis of erythroid cells in BM from NHD13 and WT mice at 12 and 20 weeks, imaged at 3000 × for BM via electron microscopy. ⇒: Mitophagy; #: Abnormal nuclear condensation and apoptosis in mid to late erythroblasts. I Representative transmission electron microscopy images comparing mitochondrial ultrastructure in erythroid cells from the BM of 12-week and 20-week-old NHD13 and WT mice (upper plots: scale bar, 2 μm; lower plots: scale bar, 500 nm). All the data are shown as mean ± s.e.m. ns, not significant, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001