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Erythropoietic progenitors capable of colony formation in culture: State of differentiation
Author(s) -
Gregory C. J.,
McCulloch E. A.,
Till J. K.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
journal of cellular physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 174
eISSN - 1097-4652
pISSN - 0021-9541
DOI - 10.1002/jcp.1040810313
Subject(s) - biology , progenitor cell , spleen , colony forming unit , erythropoiesis , erythropoietin , population , progenitor , haematopoiesis , cfu gm , bone marrow , granulocyte , immunology , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , medicine , anemia , demography , sociology , bacteria
The differentiated state of mouse erythropoietic progenitor cells (CFU‐E), detected by their ability to form erythropoietin‐dependent colonies in vitro, has been investigated. Transfusion‐induced plethora was found to reduce the population size of CFU‐E in both spleen and femoral marrow, which indicates that a significant number of CFU‐E arise by differentiation processes that are themselves erythropoietin‐dependent. Individual spleen colonies were found to be heterogeneous in their content of CFU‐E, and the numbers of CFU‐E per colony were not correlated either positively or negatively with the numbers of granulocyte‐macrophage progenitors (CFU‐C) present in the same colonies. The absence of a negative correlation between CFU‐E and CFU‐C indicates that the erythropoietic and granulopoietic pathways of differentiation are not mutually exclusive within individual spleen colonies. The numbers of CFU‐E per spleen colony were also found to vary independently of the numbers of pluripotent stem cells (CFU‐S) per colony; in contrast, as found previously, the numbers of CFU‐C and CFU‐S per colony were positively correlated. These results indicate that more randomizing events separate CFU‐E from CFU‐S than separate CFU‐C from CFU‐S, and are consistent with the view that CFU‐E occupy a position on the erythropoietic pathway of differentiation that is more remote from the pluripotent stem cells than is the corresponding position of CFU‐C on the granulopoietic pathway.