Abstract The effect of 5-azacytidine on erythroid precursors and progenitors was studied in nine patients with sickle cell anemia or severe thalassemia. Each patient received the drug intravenously for 5 or 7 d. 5-Azacytidine caused a four-to sixfold increase in y-messenger RNA concentration in bone marrow cells of eight of the nine patients and decreased the methylation frequency of a specific cytosine residue in th
