Mice with truncated EpoR are viable, which suggests Jak2 activity is sufficient to support basal erythropoiesis by activating the necessary pathways without phosphotyrosine docking sites being needed. EpoR-H form of EpoR truncation contains the first, and, what can be argued, the most important tyrosine 343 that serves as a docking site for the Stat5 molecule, but lacks the rest of the cytoplasmic tail. These mice exhibit elevated erythropoiesis consistent with the idea that phosphatase recruitment (and therefore the shutting down of signaling) is aberrant in these mice.
The EpoR-HM receptor also lacks the majority of the cytoplasmic domain, and contains the tyrosine 343 that was mutated to phenylalanine, making it unsuitable for efficient Stat5 docking and activation. These mice are anemic and show poor response to hypoxic stress, such as phenylhydrazine treatment or erythropoietin injection.
EpoR knockout mice have defects in heart, brain and the vasculature. These defects may be due to blocks in RBC formation and thus insufficient oxygen delivery to developing tissues because mice engineered to express Epo receptors only in erythroid cells develop normally.