Abstract: Objective　To study the expression changes of RPL15 during erythroid differentiation of K562 cells and to determine its effect on globin expression and erythroid differentiation. Methods　Erythroid differentiation of K562 cells was induced by hemin. The expression of RPL15 in K562 erythroid differentiation was detected by quantitative Real-Time PCR(qPCR) and Western blot assay. RNA interference (RNAi) technology was used for the inhibition of RPL15 expression in K562 cells. The expression of hemoglobin, erythroid differentiation-related genes and the expression of CD235a and CD71 in K562 cells were detected by tetramethyl benzidine staining, qPCR and flow cytometry. Results　In the process of erythroid differentiation of K562 cells, the mRNA and protein levels of RPL15 were up-regulated at first and then decreased. Compared with the control group, the interference with the RPL15 expression significantly decreased the positive rate of hemoglobin staining in K562 cells differentiated into erythroid at 24, 48 and 72 hours. The relative expressions of α-, β-, ε-, γ-globin and erythroid differentiation-related genes GATA1 and HSP70 were significantly down-regulated in erythroid differentiated K562 cells (P＜0.05). The relative expression of tumor suppressor gene P53 was significantly up-regulated (P＜0.01). Meanwhile, the proportion of CD235a+CD71+ K562 cells decreased significantly after RPL15 interference (P＜0.01). Conclusion　Inhibition of RPL15 expression can inhibit erythroid differentiation of K562 cells, suggesting that RPL15 is regulating the process of erythroid differentiation. At the same time, P53-related pathway, GATA1 and HSP70 may be involved in the regulation of erythroid differentiation by RPL15.

Key words: K562 cells, ribosomal proteins, GATA1 transcription factor, genes, p53, HSP70 heat-shock proteins, RPL15 gene, erythroid differentiation