Q: What vitamins and minerals are essential for hematopoiesis? What is the role of niacinamide in hematopoiesis?

A:Hematopoiesis starts in the yolk sac in the mammalian fetus. It then shifts a little later to the liver & spleen and finally to the bone marrow by the seventh month of fetal development. The marrow remains the site for blood cell formation throughout the rest of life. It takes about 10 to 14 days for an event affecting the earliest stage of blood cell formation to be reflected in the peripheral blood count. Hematopoiesis is a complex process that involves interplay between the intrinsic genetic processes of blood cells and their environment. The best characterized environmental regulators are cytokines and chemokines. Cytokines are proteins that mediate positive and negative affects on cellular quiescence (resting stage), apoptosis (programmed cell death), proliferation, and differentiation. Chemokines are protein molecules that regulate blood cell trafficking and homing to sites of need and may also be negative and positive growth regulators. They mediate processes like inflammation, leukocyte migration and development, angiogenesis, and tumour cell growth and metastasis. A number of nutrients, trace elements, and vitamins are also critical to hematopoiesis. Of importance are: iron, vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C, riboflavin, Pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium, molybdenum etc. Niacin (vitamin B3) is involved in hydrogen atom and two-electron transfer. Coenzymes containing niacin are an essential part of enzyme systems concerned with oxidation and reduction in living cells. The co-factor NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a major carrier of electrons in the oxidation of fuel molecules. This vitamin does not directly affect hematopoiesis.