International Journal of Cell Cloning, Vol 7, 129-135, Copyright © 1989 by AlphaMed Press
Human long-term bone marrow cultures in aplastic anemia
HS Juneja, S Lee and FH Gardner
Mary Jean Kempner Thorne Pryce-Jones Memorial Laboratory for Hematologic Research, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77550.
Long-term bone marrow cultures (LTMC) were initiated with marrow from five
normal subjects and eight patients with aplastic anemia (AA). Near
confluent to confluent adherent layers developed in all cultures from
normal subjects and AA patients. When present, the 'cobblestone' areas in
LTMC from AA subjects were smaller than those observed in the LTMC from
normal subjects. The decline in total and viable cell numbers in the LTMC
was similar for both normal subjects and AA patients.
Granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units (CFU-gm) were present in
nonadherent cells (NAC) from normal LTMC for a mean of 5.2 weeks. CFU- gm
were present in the NAC of only two of the eight AA cultures for one week.
The absent or small 'cobblestone' areas and the absence of CFU-gm
production in AA-LTMC suggest a decrease in the reproductive potential of
adherent hematopoietic stem cells, which may be the result of either an
abnormal hematopoietic stem cell or an abnormal stromal microenvironment or
both.
