THE EFFECT OF POLYCYTHAEMIC SERUM ON THE PROLIFERATION OF RAT BONE MARROW CELLS IN VITRO

The effect of experimental polycythaemia on the rate of proliferation of erythrocytic precursor cells was investigated by means of an in vitro technique. The serum obtained from polycythaemic rats was found to inhibit significantly ³H-thymidine incorporation in normal rat bone marrow cells in vitro, as compared with normal serum. Autoradiographic analysis revealed that this inhibition resulted from a reduction in the number of labelled bone marrow cells. The inhibition proved to be specific to the erythrocyte precursor cells; the labelling index was reduced in the erythrocytic cell population by 21–50% (P < 0.001) at different incubation times, while the effect on the granulocytic cell population was negligible. It is deduced that an inhibitor substance responsible for the effects observed is present in polycythaemic serum. It is proposed that this factor is the ‘erythrocytic chalone'. The results support the general view that triggering of stem cells is not the only mode of regulation of erythropoiesis, but that the rate of proliferation of the precursor cells in the erythron is also regulated.