Open AccessRELATIONSHIP OF BONE MARROW CELLULARITY AND PROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY: A LOCAL REGULATORY MECHANISM
Author(s) -
Patt Harvey M.,
Maloney Mary A.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
cell proliferation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.647
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1365-2184
pISSN - 0960-7722
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2184.1972.tb00368.x
Subject(s) - thymidine , bone marrow , dna synthesis , cell , biology , cell growth , chemistry , pathology , dna , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , biochemistry , medicine
An analysis has been made of tritiated thymidine ( 3 H‐TdR) uptake and cellularity in normal and regenerating marrow. Comparison of right and left femoral marrow in ninety normal rabbits has revealed a significant negative correlation (−0.75) between thymidine uptake per presumptive proliferative cell and the concentration of such cells. Locally irradiated marrow follows the normal marrow regression down to about 40% relative cellularity and then shows an upward displacement. The regenerating mechanically depopulated marrow manifests a similar displacement over the entire cellularity range studied which suggests that recovery was not yet complete as in the case of some of the irradiated marrow samples. The negative regression of 3 H‐TdR uptake on cellularity is not a consequence of altered thymidine availability, but rather of‐a changing DNA synthesis rate and/or a changing fraction of proliferative cells. Since 3 H‐TdR uptake per presumptive proliferative cell reflects cell production, it follows that cell production is geared to the cellularity of a discrete marrow area. This provides a local self‐regulating mechanism.