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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Med.
Sec. Hematology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1448654

High altitude polycythemia and its maladaptive mechanisms: an updated review

Provisionally accepted
Shijie Tang Shijie Tang 1,2*Wenwen Zhou Wenwen Zhou 1*Ling Chen Ling Chen 1*Hui Yan Hui Yan 1*Lei Chen Lei Chen 1,2*Fengming Luo Fengming Luo 1,2
  • 1 Other, Chengdu, China
  • 2 Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    High altitude polycythemia is a maladaptation of highlanders exposed to hypoxic environment, leading to high blood viscosity and severe cardiorespiratory dysfunction. Prolonged hypoxia causes respiratory depression and severe hypoxemia, and further mediates changes in genetic and molecular mechanisms that regulate erythropoiesis and apoptosis, ultimately resulting in excessive erythrocytosis (EE). This updated review investigated the maladaptive mechanisms of EE, including respiratory chemoreceptor passivation, sleep-related breathing disorders, sex hormones, iron metabolism, and hypoxia-related factors and pathways.

    Keywords: Excessive erythrocytosis, High altitude polycythemia, hypoxemia, maladaptive mechanisms, review

    Received: 13 Jun 2024; Accepted: 12 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Tang, Zhou, Chen, Yan, Chen and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Shijie Tang, Other, Chengdu, China
    Wenwen Zhou, Other, Chengdu, China
    Ling Chen, Other, Chengdu, China
    Hui Yan, Other, Chengdu, China
    Lei Chen, Other, Chengdu, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.