Stress erythropoiesis: selenium to the rescue!

Studies investigating how micronutrients regulate erythropoiesis within the erythroblastic niche have primarily focused on iron homeostasis. In this issue of Blood , Liao et al highlight an additional regulator of the erythroblastic niche, selenium (Se). 1 Se acts to promote stress erythroid cell expansion and differentiation as well as directly acting on monocytes, inducing their differentiation to erythroblastic island macrophages.