Stimulation of retroviral vector infection of murine hematopoietic progenitors

Conditioned media (CM) from a cloned murine marrow-derived stromal cell line, AC6.21 (ALC), was shown to stimulate retroviral vector infection of hematopoietic progenitors in culture. Inclusion of ALC CM during cocultivation of normal murine bone marrow (BM) with vector-producing fibroblasts improved infection efficiency of day 13 spleen colony-forming cells (CFU-s) from 63% (15 provirus-positive spleen colonies/24 total), without added growth factor, to 90% (36 provirus-positive colonies/40 total). In addition, stimulation of BM cells with ALC CM during cocultivation improved retroviral infection of stem cells capable of repopulating the hematopoietic system of irradiated recipient animals. Because ALC CM was found to have 50 to 100 U/ml of IL-6 activity, purified recombinant human IL-6 was tested for an effect in this system. Stimulation with IL-6 alone increased retroviral infection efficiency of CFU-s from 15% (17 colonies provirus-positive/111 total analyzed) without added growth factor to 66% (97 provirus-positive colonies/148 total analyzed). These experiments support and extend previous studies which have demonstrated the necessity for growth factor stimulation in optimizing retroviral vector transduction of hematopoietic precursors.     

Comparative studies on the characteristics of proliferation and differentiation of spleen colony-forming cells

Using a single spleen colony transplantation technique and sex chromosome typing as a natural cytogenetic marker, most spleen colony-forming cells (CFC) in adult bone marrow or fetal livers of inbred LACA or C57 mice re-established hemopoiesis in lethally irradiated mice when the spleen colonies were sampled at 13 days after transplantation. However, most of the spleen colony-forming cells in the peripheral blood of normal mice possess little potential for proliferation and are less efficient in the re-establishment of hemopoiesis in lethally irradiated mice. The CFC population is heterogeneous in the mice. From the subsequent retransplantation of colonies from colony-forming cells in the peripheral blood, the simple assessment of spleen colony-forming units (CFU-s) content, based on the number of splenic colonies, does not reliably represent the content of hemopoietic stem cells.     

Effect of a neutrophilia-inducing tumor on hemopoietic stem cells in mice

The influence of neutrophilic stimulation on hemopoietic stem cells was studied in mice with tumor-induced neutrophilia. Transfusions of marrow cells from normal and neutrophilic tumor-bearing mice into lethally irradiated normal and tumor-bearing mice were performed. The number and the erythroid:granuloid (E:G) ratio of day 7 colonies in the recipient spleens and bones as well as the size of spleen colonies of recipient animals were determined. The E:G ratio of spleen and bone marrow colonies between normal and tumor-bearing mouse recipients and the number of spleen colonies did not differ significantly in either experiment. However, spleen colonies which developed in tumor-bearing irradiated mice were significantly larger than those which developed in normal recipients in both experiments. These studies indicated that while the line of differentiation taken by hemopoietic stem cells was not affected by the neutrophilic influence of the tumor, the tumor-bearing host environment appeared to enhance proliferation of transfused stem cells and/or their descendants. The stimulators of granulocytopoiesis in this model of neutrophilia appear to act on a population of progenitor cells more mature than the stem cells capable of forming 7-day colonies in the spleen and bone marrow of irradiated recipient mice.     

STUDY OF CELL DEATH IN FRIEND LEUKAEMIA

Cell death of splenic Friend leukaemic cells has been studied in vivo, using ¹²⁵I-UdR and ³H-TdR pulse labelling. The evolution of the splenic specific activity has been measured by autoradiography and external counting during 40 hr after injection of the labelled precursor. These two techniques show the existence of a large reutilization of ³H-TdR (50%), which is measurable as soon as 7 hr after the injection. The DNA turnover rate is rapid, 83-8 % of the splenic cellular DNA being renewed per day. These results confirm that most of the cells produced in the Friend leukaemic spleen are rapidly lost; they also demonstrate that this cell loss is mainly due to a massive death, which occurs in proerythroblastic and erythroblastic compartments after one or two cell divisions. Friend leukaemic cells, which are characterized by a limited capacity of proliferation and a short lifespan, do not appear to be malignant.     

Reaction between the mechanocytes of hematopoietic organs in collagen gel

Interactions between stromal mechanocytes of hemopoietic organs were studied at their cultivation in three-dimentional collagen gel. It was demonstrated that cellular cords appearing between fibroblast colonies and between fragments of hemopoietic organs are of fibroblastic nature. They are not resulted from organic or specific peculiarities, or from discharge of substances attracting fibroblasts. A linear dependence between the amount of fibrorow or spleen was noted. Fibroblast colonies formed by the hamster bone marrow and splenic cells, as well as by passaged fibroblasts of the guinea pig bone marrow were obtained. In order to form colonies by the passaged fibroblasts it is necessary to add of irradiated cells. Its effect, besides the medium conditioning, is evidently, in restriction of fibroblast mobility in collagen gel.     

Effect of the U-2 fraction of splenic extract from Horsfield's terrapin on the hematopoiesis of mammals

Intraperitoneal administration of a spleen extract from Testudo horsfieldi and its U-2 fraction increases the number of endogenous splenic haemopoietic colonies. The U-2 fraction administered to irradiated (4 Gy) mice increases the number of bone marrow CFUs. Bone marrow cells of exposed (4 Gy) mice preincubated in vitro with the U-2 fraction also increase the number of exogenous colonies in the recipient's spleen.     

Purification and analysis of rat hematopoietic stem cells by flow cytometry

The monoclonal antibody OX7 recognizes an epitope expressed on the Thy-1 glycoprotein, OX22 recognizes the high molecular weight form(s) on leukocyte common antigen, and W3/13 recognized determinants found on certain sialoglycoproteins. Recently, the rat colony-forming unit spleen (CFU-S) was characterized as being OX7 upper 20% positive (OX7u20%), OX22 negative (OX22-), and W3/13 weakly positive (W3/13+). In the present study these observations have been extended to include the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC). Rat marrow cells were incubated with allophycocyanine-OX7 Fab' (APC-OX7 Fab') and phycoerythrin B-OX22 Fab' (Phy B-OX22 Fab'). The cells were sorted with a FACS-II instrument by using a Krypton laser tuned to the 530 nm spectral line for phycobiliprotein excitation. It was found that marrow cells capable of protecting lethally irradiated Lewis rats (9.5 Gy total body radiation, 0.4 Gy/min Co60) had the phenotype OXu20%, OX22-. The percentage of cells in the marrow with this phenotype was found to be 0.34 +/- 0.01 (mean +/- S.E.). Three thousand of these cells were required to rescue 50% of lethally irradiated recipients (30-d survival), while the number of unsorted bone marrow cells required was 1.05 X 10(6). Thus, a 350-fold purification of the HSC was realized. Although CFU-S copurified with HSC, purification of only 105-fold was obtained. This might indicate that purified HSC have a reduced capacity to generate splenic hematopoietic colonies. The OX7u20%, OX22- -enriched HSC population could be further divided into W3/13 dim and W3/13+ subpopulations by three-parameter immunofluorescence analysis with the use of a new optical bench arrangement.     

Genetic resistance in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. I. Analysis of the mechanism of LeR resistance using radiation chimeras

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a cell-mediated autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that has been extensively studied in the rat. The Lewis rat is highly susceptible to the induction of EAE, while the Lewis resistant (LeR) rat is known to be resistant. In this paper, we demonstrate that the LeR rat, which was derived from the Lewis strain by inbreeding of fully resistant animals, is histocompatible with the Lewis strain. Radiation chimeras, a tool for distinguishing between immunologic and nonimmunologic resistance mechanisms, were utilized to analyze the cellular mechanisms involved in genetic resistance to EAE. By transplanting bone marrow cells from LeR rats into irradiated Lewis recipients, Lewis rats were rendered resistant to EAE induction. Likewise, transplanting Lewis bone marrow cells into irradiated LeR recipients rendered LeR rats susceptible. Mixed lymphoid cell chimeras using bone marrow, spleen, and thymus cells in Lewis recipient rats revealed individual lymphoid cell types and cell interactions that significantly affected the incidence and severity of EAE. Our results suggest that LeR resistance is mediated by hematopoietic/immune cells, and that cells located in the spleen appear to play a critical role in the resistance/susceptibility to EAE induction. Depletion of splenic adherent cells did not change the patterns of EAE resistance. In vivo cell mixing studies suggested the presence of a suppressor cell population in the LeR spleen preparations which exerted an inhibitory effect on Lewis autoimmune responses. Thus, the mechanism of LeR resistance appears to be different from that in other EAE-resistant animals.     

Histopathologic effects of soluble glucan and WR-2721, independently and combined in C3H/HeN mice.

Soluble glucan, an immunomodulator, and Walter Reed (WR)-2721, a radioprotectant, increase postirradiation survival when administered before and after exposure, respectively. Combined, these agents act synergistically through WR-2721's ability to spare hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells from radiation injury and glucan's ability to subsequently stimulate spared cells to proliferate. In this study, the histopathologic effects of WR-2721 (200 mg/kg, ip) and glucan (250 mg/kg, iv), at doses capable of increasing survival in lethally irradiated mice, were evaluated in unirradiated and irradiated female C3H/HeN mice. After treatment, whole body weights and wet organ weights of liver, spleen, and kidney, as well as gross and histologic changes in these and other tissues, were monitored on Days 1, 4, 7, 11, 15, 21, and 28. Morphometric studies of splenic white and red pulps were also performed. Soluble glucan, with or without WR-2721, in unirradiated groups, was associated with splenomegaly, transient morphometrically determined perturbations of white and red pulp areas, and histologic alterations of white pulp. In irradiated mice, splenic weight loss was initially dampened in glucan groups and accompanied by morphologic and histologic changes similar to those seen in unirradiated counterparts. The subsequent rebound of splenic parameters in irradiated mice was limited to WR-2721-treated mice and was associated with hematopoietic reconstitution. Glucan, with or without WR-2721, in unirradiated groups was associated with transient hepatomegaly and associated histologic changes. Similar changes in irradiated animals were seen only in the combined treatment group.     

Use of electroporation for high-molecular-weight DNA-mediated gene transfer

Electroporation was used to introduce high-molecular-weight DNA into murine hematopoietic cells and NIH3T3 cells. CCRF-CEM cells were stably transfected with SV2NEO plasmid and the genomic DNA from G-418-resistant clones (greater than 65 kb) was introduced into mouse bone marrow and NIH3T3 cells by electroporation. NEO sequences and expression were detected in the hematopoietic tissues of lethally irradiated mice, with 24% of individual spleen colonies expressing NEO. The frequency of genomic DNA transfer into NIH3T3 cells was 0.25 X 10(-3). Electroporation thus offers a powerful mode of gene transfer not only of cloned genes but also of high-molecular-weight DNA into cells.     

Self-renewal and differentiation of interleukin-3-dependent multipotent stem cells are modulated by stromal cells and serum factors

Interleukin-3 (IL-3)-dependent cell lines (FDCP-mix) were cloned and isolated from long-term bone-marrow cultures infected with src-MoMuLV. These cell lines have many of the characteristics of hematopoietic stem cells. Early isolates of the FDCP-mix cells form spleen colonies in irradiated mice and establish long-term hematopoiesis on irradiated marrow stroma in vitro in the absence of IL-3. These two properties of the cells are lost within 15 weeks of establishing the cell lines, but the cell lines retain their ability to differentiate in a multilineage response to hematopoietic growth factors and to hematopoietic stromal cells, as well as to self-renew in the presence of IL-3. The choice between differentiation and self-renewal in FDCP-mix cells can clearly be modified by culture conditions: in particular, cultures containing horse serum preferentially promote self-renewal, whereas cultures containing fetal calf serum preferentially promote differentiation. The FDCP-mix cell lines are not leukemic, nor do they contain the src oncogene. Their ability to respond to hematopoietic growth factors and stroma in a similar manner to normal hematopoietic cells makes them a valuable model for studying the regulation of hemopoietic cell self-renewal and differentiation.     

Effect of herbal preparation, brahma rasayana, in amelioration of radiation induced damage

Oral administration of brahma rasayana (BR; 10 and 50 mg/dose/animal) for 15 days increased significantly total leukocyte count and percentage of polymorphonuclear cells in irradiated mice. Bone marrow cellularity and alpha-esterase positive cells also increased significantly in radiation-treated animals after BR administration. Number of nodular colonies on the surface of spleen on day seven increased significantly in lethally irradiated recipients receiving bone marrow cells from animals treated with BR. Oral administration of BR also enhanced in serum level of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor(GM-CSF) in normal and irradiated mice. These results indicated that proliferation of stem cells induced by BR in irradiated mice may be related to its stimulation of cytokine production.     

Generation of murine stromal cell lines supporting hematopoietic stem cell proliferation by use of recombinant retrovirus vectors encoding simian virus 40 large T antigen.

The bone marrow is a complex microenvironment made up of multiple cell types which appears to play an important role in the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and proliferation. We used murine long-term marrow cultures and a defective recombinant retrovirus vector containing the simian virus 40 large T antigen to immortalize marrow stromal cells which can support hematopoiesis in vitro for up to 5 weeks. Such cloned cell lines differentially supported stem cells which, when transplanted, allowed survival of lethally irradiated mice, formed hematopoietic spleen colonies in vivo, and stimulated lymphocyte proliferation in vitro. Molecular and functional analyses of these cell lines did not demonstrate the production of any growth factors known to support the proliferation of primitive hematopoietic stem cells. All cell lines examined produced macrophage colony-stimulating factor. The use of immortalizing retrovirus vectors may allow determination of unique cellular proteins important in hematopoietic stem cell proliferation by the systematic comparison of stromal cells derived from a variety of murine tissues.     

Colony-forming hematopoietic cells in the mouse embryonic lung

The colony-forming activity of embryo lung cells CBA mice was determined according to the Till and McCulloch technique (1961). After intravenous injection to jung cells (1 x 10(6)) from 14-day embryos the total number of colonies on the area of 1 mm2 of spleen sections from irradiated recipient mice averaged 2.31 +/- 0.39 whereas after transplantation of lung cells from 15-day embryos it averaged 2.34 +/- 0.53. The percent of macrocolonies equalled 52.5% in the former case and only 2.5% in the latter case. Macrocolonies contained cells of the myeloid, erythroid and megakaryocyte lines. Microcolonies predominantly consisted of granulocytes at various stages of differentiation. Thus, polypotent stem hematopoietic cells migrate into the fetal lung in vivo. The colony-forming ability of the lung polypotent stem cells decreases as the period of embryogenesis increases.     

Defective transient endogenous spleen colony formation in S1/S1d mice.

WCB6F1 mice of the genotype S1/S1d did not form transient 5-day endogenous spleen colonies following midlethal irradiation, either spontaneously or in response to postirradiation bleeding. Their hematologically normal (+/+) littermates produced colonies equivalent in number and morphologic type to a normal strain (D2B6F1), as evaluated by both macroscopic and microscopic criteria. Bone marrow cells from S1/S1d mice, when transplanted into lethally irradiated +/+ mice, were able to generate equivalent numbers of transient endogenous spleen colonies (TE-CFUs), as compared to that obtained when syngeneic +/+ marrow cells were injected into lethally irradiated +/+ recipients. A defective growth of an early class of hematopoietic progenitor cells, resulting in the clinical course of the S1/S1d anemia is suggested and confirms previous reports on the microenvironmental nature of this abnormality.     

The effect of allogeneic lymphocytes on colony formation during culturing of hematopoietic precursor cells in the peritoneal cavity

The number of colonies formed in the peritoneal cavity (on the artificial underlayer made of peritoneal cells) and in the spleen of lethally irradiated recipients, (CBA X X C57BL) F1 mice, after the intraperitoneal injection of marrow cells depends on the cell donor's genotype: syngeneic cells and cells from mice of the parent strain CBA form fewer colonies in the peritoneal cavity than in the spleen, while cells from C57BL mice produce the reverse distribution of colonies between the peritoneal cavity and the spleen. Allogenic lymphocytes, when transplanted simultaneously with hematopoietic cells, suppress colony formation in the peritoneal cavity from day 2 of cultivation and eliminate the already developed foci of hematopoiesis by day 5.     

Murine acute leukemia cell line with megakaryocytic differentiation (MK-8057) induced by whole-body irradiation in C3H/He mice: cytological properties and kinetics of its leukemic stem cells

Five cases of murine leukemia with megakaryocytic differentiation were observed among the 417 cases of radiation-induced leukemias which developed in 30% of C3H/HeMs mice exposed at 8 to 10 weeks to 0.5 to 5 gy total body irradiation. Cells from individual leukemic colonies in the spleen of the irradiated mice, and cells from colonies in methylcellulose (MC) culture in vitro, derived from one of these leukemias, MK-8057, were injected into mice; both types of cells caused the deaths of the recipient mice by inducing the same type of leukemia. MK-8057 can be maintained in Dexter-type liquid culture with a feeder layer of irradiated bone marrow cells. There was a linear reciprocal relationship between the increasing number of MK-8057 cells injected versus the survival of the recipient mice. A reciprocal relationship also was seen between an increasing number of leukemic stem cells, corresponding to the number of MK-8057 cells, and the survival of mice injected with MK-8057. Giant nuclear megakaryocytes developed during the course of colony growth in the spleen as they did in the MC culture. Such megakaryocytes were acetylcholinesterase positive, whereas leukemic cells in the peripheral blood showed no sign of platelet production nor of a positive reaction to acetylcholinesterase. Cells maintained in culture were entirely positive in platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa when anti-human antibody was used. The larger cells in a splenic cell suspension derived from a moribund mouse were separated and enriched by velocity sedimentation using centrifugal elutriation (CE), and then subjected to flow cytometry using propidium iodide staining. Cells with up to 32N-DNA content were detected. After separating MK-8057 by counter-flow CE, the larger cell fraction (mode at 540 microns3) produced more leukemic colonies when injected into irradiated mice than did the small cell fraction (mode at 240 microns3). A higher percent of the larger cell fraction (61.9%) was killed by the addition of tritiated thymidine cytocide than in the smaller cell fraction (14.9%). Thus, the smaller cell fraction is considered to have more leukemic spleen colony-forming units (L-CFU-s) in the resting state.     

The cellular composition of hemopoietic spleen colonies

The cellular composition of individual hemopoietic spleen colonies has been studied using techniques which tested primarily for cell function rather than cell morphology. Erythroblastic cells were recognized by their capacity to incorporate radioiron, granulocytic cells by their content of peroxidase-positive material, and hemopoietic stem cells by their ability to form spleen colonies in irradiated hosts. It was found that, 14 days after the initiation of spleen colonies, the distribution of these cell types among individual colonies was very heterogeneous, but that most colonies contained detectable numbers of erythroblasts, granulocytes and colony-forming cells. An appreciable proportion of the cells in the colonies could not be identified as any of these three cell types. No strong correlations between numbers of erythroblasts, granulocytes and colony-forming cells in individual colonies were observed, though there was a tendency for colonies containing a high proportion of erythroblasts to contain a low proportion of granulocytes, and for colonies containing a high proportion of granulocytes to contain a higher proportion of colony-forming cells. An analysis of colonies which contained cells bearing radiation-induced chromosomal markers indicated that 83–98% of the dividing cells within 14-day spleen colonies were derived from single precursors.     

Hemopoietic colony studies. VI. Increased eosinophil-containing colonies obtained by antigen pre-treatment of irradiated mice reconstituted with bone marrow cells

The cellular response to an intraperitoneal injection of antigen (tetanus toxoid) was studied in reconstituted animals in order to determine the mechanism of control of eosinophil granulocytopoiesis. Antigen treatment of the marrow cell donors did not consistently increase the number of spleen and bone marrow colonies in recipient animals or change the percentage of eosinophil or other hemopoietic colony types. Antigen pre-treatment of the irradiated recipients increased the percentage of eosinophil-containing colonies in the spleen and femoral bone marrow without significantly changing the total number of either spleen or marrow colonies. Antigen treatment of both the bone marrow cell donor and recipient produced a further increase in the percentage of eosinophil-containing colonies in the marrow cavity, but not in the spleen. Antigen treatment of the irradiated recipient increased the number of eosinophilic cells (but not the total number of cells) in both the peritoneal cavity and the bone marrow. Antigen treatment of both the marrow donor and recipient produced a further increase in the number of eosinophilic cells in the peritoneal cavity, but not in a single femur. Since antigen treatment of the marrow recipient, or recipient and donor, but not of the marrow donor alone, results in increased eosinophilic cell and colony numbers, the effect of antigen appears to be mediated through some host factor(s), perhaps the eosinophilic hemopoietic inducing microenvironment (HIM), rather than directly on the hemopoietic stem cells.     

The effect of erythropoietin on the growth and development of spleen colony-forming cells

The progressive growth and development of spleen colonies was studied in heavily irradiated host mice in which erythropoiesis was modified by various procedures. Erythropoietic activity in non-polycythemic hosts bearing spleen colonies was not increased by injections of exogenous erythropoietin. Detectable levels of erythropoietin were found in the heavily irradiated host mice suggesting that the failure of exogenous erythropoietin to modify erythropoiesis was because the host mice were already maximally stimulated by the high endogenous erythropoietin levels. Spleen colonies do not become erythroid in polycythemic mice. The injection of exogenous erythropoietin into heavily irradiated polycythemic hosts did not decrease the total number of spleen colonies produced by a given bone marrow transplant, as would be expected if erythropoietin acted directly on the colony-forming cells. Comparison of growth curves for colony-forming cells in the spleens of polycythemic hosts either receiving or not receiving erythropoietin indicated that the overall doubling time of colony-forming cells during the first ten days after transplantation was not changed by the daily injection of erythropoietin. These experiments are consistent with the concept that erythropoietin is necessary for the development of erythroid colonies. Erythropoietin acts upon some progeny of the colony-forming cell rather than the colony-forming cell itself.