Piezo1 plays a role in erythrocyte volume homeostasis

Mechanosensitivity is an inherent ability of virtually all cell types, allowing them to sense and respond to physical environmental stimuli. Stretch activated ion channels represent a class of mechanosensitive proteins which allow cells to rapidly respond to changes in membrane tension, however the identity of these has remained elusive. The piezo genes have recently been identified as a family of stretch activated mechanosensitive ion channels. We set out to determine the role of piezo1 during zebrafish development. Here we report that morpholino mediated knockdown of piezo1 impairs erythrocyte survival without effecting hematopoiesis or differentiation. Our results demonstrate that piezo1 is involved in erythrocyte volume homeostasis, disruption of which results in swelling/lysis and consequent anemia.