Effect of recombinant murine tumor necrosis factor on hemopoietic reconstitution in sublethally irradiated mice

Intravenous bolus administration of a single 2-micrograms dose of murine rTNF-alpha to BALB/c mice 20 h before sublethal total-body irradiation (7.5 Gy) conferred significant protection against radiation-induced leukopenia. Murine rTNF-alpha administration not only reduced the decline of neutrophil and total blood cell counts after radiation, but also accelerated the subsequent normalization of peripheral blood cell counts. This was accompanied by accelerated regeneration of primitive hematopoietic progenitors, as determined by the in vivo spleen CFU assay, and the in vitro assay of the more mature hematopoietic cell compartment. This demonstrates that pretreatment with murine rTNF-alpha enhances hematopoietic reconstitution after sublethal irradiation, and indicates a possible therapeutic potential for this agent in the treatment of radiation-induced myelo-suppression.