GRANULO-ERYTHROPOIETIC COLONIES IN HUMAN BONE-MARROW, PERIPHERAL-BLOOD, AND CORD BLOOD

Abstract

Colonies that contain granulopoietic and erythropoietic cells could be grown in specimens of human bone marrow, peripheral blood and cord blood. Growth of these colonies was promoted by media conditioned by leukocytes in the presence of phytohemagglutinin (PHA-LCM) and the addition of erythropoietin on days 4 or 5 to the cultures. Sedimentation velocity profiles for these granuloerythrocytic colonies suggested their origin from single cells (CFU-G/E [granuloerythrocytic colonies]) rather than from doublets or clumps. This hypothesis was supported by cocultivation of male and female specimens. Cells in granuloerythrocytic colonies that developed in such mixing experiments were uniformly female by Y-chromatin analysis or contained Y-chromatin bodies in the granulocytic and erythroid cells.