Correlation of miR-144 and NRF2 protein level in HbSS reticulocytes and during in vitro differentiation. (A) Hemoglobin and (B) hematocrit levels were inversely correlated with miR-144 expression in an independent cohort of reticulocyte samples from 25 HbSS patients. (C) NRF2 protein levels measured by NRF2 ELISA assay in HbSS reticulocytes (n = 15). (D) The induction of miR-144 expression during indicated days of erythroid maturation of HbSS CD34+ progenitors. (E) NRF2 protein levels (upper panel) with densitometric analysis (lower panel) during the corresponding days of erythroid maturation in HbSS progenitors were determined by Western blot and normalized to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Glycophorin A expression is shown as an additional control for erythroid maturation.