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Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) stimulates erythroid differentiation, but the signaling events upstream are yet to be identified. Ca2+ plays crucial roles during erythroid differentiation. Here, we show that Ca2+ enhances methylation during induced erythroid differentiation and that Ca2+ directly upregulates the catalytic activity of recombinant PRMT1 by increasing Vmax toward the substrate heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2. We demonstrate that PRMT1 is essential and responsible for the effect of Ca2+ on differentiation. Depletion of Ca2+ suppresses PRMT1-mediated activation of p38α and p38α-stimulated differentiation. Furthermore, Ca2+ stimulates methylation of p38α by PRMT1. This study uncovers a novel regulatory mechanism for PRMT1 by Ca2+ and identifies the PRMT1/p38α axis as an intracellular mediator of Ca2+ signaling during erythroid differentiation.

The Fourth Asia-Pacific Drosophila Research Conference (APDRC4) was held at the convention center of Osaka University, Osaka, Japan, on May 8-11, 2017. Derived from the Japanese Drosophila Research Conference, the APDRC visited its home for the first time since its launch in 2011 with APDRC1 in Taipei, followed by APDRC2 in Seoul and APDRC3 in Beijing. There were 344 participants from 18 countries, more than half of whom were from abroad (Data S1). Two keynote speakers, Drs. Henry Sun and Daisuke Yamamoto, who have had rich science careers, gave overviews of their research. In addition, 14 invited speakers who are highly regarded in their fields introduced their new findings. Thirty-four oral presenters, many of them young investigators and students, were selected from the general participants to report their exciting results. During the conference, many stimulating questions and discussions were shared. Furthermore, 176 posters were presented, which also inspired enthusiastic discussions. In addition to the scientific presentations, a mixer and banquet enabled further intercommunion among the researchers (Figure b, e). During the conference, it was decided that the next Asia-Pacific Drosophila Research Conference (APDRC5) would be in Pune, India, in 2020. Thus, APDRC4 successfully achieved its mission to facilitate Drosophila research in the Asia-Pacific region.