Extrarenal Sites of Erythrogenin Production

SummaryExposure of young nephrectomized male rats to severe hypoxia results in the appearance of highly significant quantities of erythrogenin in the liver and spleen. The amounts evoked in these 2 organs are greater than in the livers and spleens, and approximately equal to those in the kidneys of young male non-nephrectomized rats exposed to a similar degree of hypoxia. This indicates that nephrectomy serves to potentiate extrarenal erythrogenin production in response to hypoxia. The results also suggest that similar biosynthetic pathways operate in renal and extrarenal production of Ep.