Identification of three accessory cell populations in human bone marrow with erythroid burst-promoting properties.
Year: 1985
Type: article
Abstract: Several laboratories have demonstrated a requirement for burst-promoting activity (BPA), a product of T cells, or T cell/monocyte collaboration in the induction of differentiation of peripheral blood erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E) in vitro. The physiologic significance of this finding is brought into question by patients with severe mature T cell deficiency who have normal in vivo erythropoiesis. The studies described here were designed to determine whether the burst-promoting effects of marrow T cells and adherent cells are similar to those of peripheral blood, to define whether a third population of marrow cells is capable of production of BPA, and to describe the BPA requirements of immature and mature marrow erythroid progenitors. To that end we prepared adherence- and E-depleted low-density peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a source of BFU-E and demonstrated that their optimal erythropoietin-induced differentiation requires BPA. We then determined that both bone marrow and peripheral blood T cells and monocytes could provide the necessary BPA to induce their erythropoietin dependent differentiation. BPA production by T cells was sensitive to irradiation, but that of the whole bone marrow low-density population was considerably less sensitive. This in itself demonstrated that BPA production in marrow is not T cell dependent. We further demonstrated a potent, albeit infrequent, third population of BPA-producing marrow cells. These proved to be nonadherent, E receptor-negative, granulocyte antigen-negative, and gamma-Fc receptor-positive. Finally, we separated all of these BPA-producing cells from marrow erythroid progenitors and concentrated the latter into a population in which they comprised 6% of the cells. With this population we demonstrated that both immature (BFU-E) and mature (colony-forming units [CFU-E]) erythroid progenitors require BPA in addition to erythropoietin to induce them to form erythroid colonies in vitro. These results may explain the normal erythropoiesis found in patients with mature T cell deficiency. Though the differentiation of both BFU-E and CFU-E requires BPA, this need can be met by a special class of nonadherent, radioresistant, E receptor-negative, granulocyte antigen-negative, and gamma-Fc-positive cells.
DOI: 10.1172/jci111827
Authors: D C Linch, J M Lipton, D G Nathan
Institutions: Harvard University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Hematology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: Dyson Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2091997969
