Novel differentiation antigens on late erythrocytic progenitor cells detected by alloantisera made between mouse strains congenic at the Fv-2 locus.

We have investigated the activities of alloantisera produced in B6 (C57BL/6) and B6.S strain mice reciprocally immunized with unwashed bone marrow and spleen cell suspensions from their respective Fv-2 congenic partner strains, B6.S and B6. These antisera inhibited the formation of colonies by the late erythrocytic progenitors (CFU-E) in plasma cultures seeded with unwashed bone marrow or spleen cells; washed cells were unaffected. Erythropoietic burst formation by the early progenitors (BFU-E) was not significantly inhibited by the antisera, whether the cells were washed or unwashed. We conclude (a) that the congenic antisera are capable of recognizing alloantigens controlled by alleles of Fv-2 or of a closely linked gene locus on chromosome 9; (b) that these alloantigens are situated on the surface of erythrocytic progenitor cells and can be removed by washing; and (c) that the expression of the alloantigens on these cells is influenced by their stage of differentiation.

Purification of an inhibitor of erythroid progenitor cell cycling and antagonist to interleukin 3 from mouse marrow cell supernatants and its identification as cytosolic superoxide dismutase.

We have isolated a protein from media conditioned by a murine marrow-derived cell line (PB6) and from mouse marrow supernatants that antagonizes interleukin 3-dependent proliferation of cells in culture and reversibly inhibits DNA synthesis of erythroid progenitor cells (BFU-E) in vitro. This protein, p16 (monomer Mr = 16 kD on SDS-PAGE), was purified to homogeneity and amino acid sequencing of a polypeptide fragment yielded a sequence identical to that of murine cytosolic Cu,Zn-containing superoxide dismutase (SOD). The identification of p16 as SOD was confirmed by the detection of SOD enzymatic activity in pure p16 fractions, and when a commercial human erythrocytic SOD preparation was tested it showed the same cell inhibitory activities as p16. These observations show that superoxide dismutase is able to affect the cycling and growth factor responses of hematopoietic cells, activities that have not previously been associated with this enzyme.

Friend spleen focus-forming virus production in vitro by a nonerythroid cell line.

We developed a cell line (IS) that continuously produced both Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) and XC plaque-forming virus in vitro. The line was derived from the enlarged spleen of an inbred SIM mouse previously infected with a polycythemic strain of Friend leukemia virus in vivo. Friend SFFV titers of 10(4) spleen focus-forming units/ml of culture medium were maintained for more than 200 cell generations. The virus from IS cells induced the splenomegaly and high hematocrit typical of Friend virus-induced erythroid disease in SIM mice. Cells of the IS line were adherent and phagocytic and had a low saturation density. They produced no tumors after being injected sc into normal syngeneic hosts and no spleen colonies after being injected iv into supralethally irradiated hosts. IS cells did not have the character of erythroid cells: They did not contain detectable heme as measured by benzidine-peroxide reagent, did not contain globin mRNA in detectable amounts, and did not produce erythroid colonies in plasma culture in the absence or presence of erythropoietin. According to these criteria, growth in the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide did not stimulate erythroid differentiation of IS cells. We concluded that Friend SFFV can infect nonerythroid spleen cells but that replication of the virus was not obligatorily coupled to expression of genes associated with the erythroid phenotype.

Some hemopoietic negative regulators.

Hemopoietic negative regulators are growth inhibitory proteins or peptides of natural origin that exert their effects on cells of the blood-forming system. They are biologically defined by quantitative assay methods that exclude toxicity as a basis for their action. They act within minutes to hours, in a readily reversible and more-or-less specific manner on stem cells and progenitor cells, during S-phase to arrest DNA synthesis, or during G1 to prevent entry into DNA synthesis. Operating at picomolar to nanomolar concentrations through high-affinity receptors at their target cell surface, they oppose the action of stimulatory (or positive regulatory) growth factors. Hemopoietic negative and positive regulators acting in concert thus appear to provide a mechanism for rapid, reversible, and specific proliferative responses to changes in hemopoietic demand.

The proliferative state of early erythropoietic progenitor cells (BFU-E) in human umbilical cord blood: low probability of finding BFU-E in DNA synthesis.

We have investigated the proliferative behavior of early erythropoietic progenitor cells (BFU-E) in human umbilical cord blood with hydroxyurea and tritiated-thymidine suicide experiments. Our results indicate that the great majority of these progenitors are normally either in a quiescent state with respect to DNA synthesis or in a prolonged cell cycle experimentally indistinguishable from this state. In this regard, neonatal BFU-E resemble adult circulating BFU-E.

Erythroid progenitor cells (CFU-E*) from Friend virus-infected mice undergo 55Fe suicide in vitro in the absence of added erythropoietin.

We have investigated the effect of 55Fe on the survival in suspension of erythropoietin (epo)-independent erythroid progenitor cells (CFU-E*) induced by Friend polycythemia virus (FV). Spleen cells from C3Hf/Bi mice previously infected with FV were exposed to carrier-free 55Fe, and the survival of CFU-E* as a function of time in liquid medium was determined from the number of erythroid colonies that developed from these cells seeded in plasma cultures without added epo. The results showed that spleen CFU-E* were highly vulnerable to 55Fe: Do approximately equal to 1 h exposure to 100 microCi/ml. Marrow CFU-E* behaved in a similar manner. The 55Fe responsible for their suicide had been presented to the progenitor cells only during the 4-h period of incubation, after which they were washed and plated in excess nonradioactive iron. We therefore conclude that CFU-E* themselves, and not only their progeny, are capable of actively incorporating iron. Under the same conditions in the absence of added epo, the effect of 55Fe on the survival of normal spleen or marrow CFU-E could not be assessed because two few normal CFU-E survived the incubation period. Normal bone marrow cells incubated in complete medium containing epo retained their capacity for erythrocytic colony formation, and CFU-E could then be shown to be vulnerable to 55Fe. Thus, either the iron-incorporating system of normal CFU-E was inducible by epo, or else epo permitted survival of the CFU-E so that the activity of a constitutive iron-incorporating system could be recognized.

Heterogeneity of buoyant density and proliferative state of circulating erythropoietic progenitor cells (BFU-E) in man.

Normal human blood BFU-E are believed to be in a quiescent state with respect to DNA synthesis, since few or none of these progenitors can be killed by cycle-active agents. Using Percoll discontinuous density gradient centrifugation of normal human blood mononuclear cells, we have separated two subpopulations of BFU-E with different proportions in DNA synthesis. Mononuclear cells were obtained with Ficoll-Isopaque from 24 samples of normal blood. BFU-E were assayed with the methylcellulose technique, and their proliferative state was studied with the hydroxyurea (HU) suicide method. The results obtained with a five-step gradient of density range 1.060-1.068 g/ml showed that the vast majority of BFU-E were distributed approximately equally between pooled fractions with rho = 1.060 + 1.062 g/ml and those with rho = 1.064 + 1.066 g/ml. Among nonseparated cells or cells in the fraction of rho = 1.060 + 1.062 g/ml, we failed to detect a significant proportion of DNA-synthesizing BFU-E in the great majority of samples. In contrast, in the pooled fractions with rho = 1.064 + 1.066 g/ml, 14 of 24 samples showed significant kill, and among these 14, a highly significant proportion of BFU-E were killed by HU (39.3% +/- 3.4%). Therefore, the separation of mononuclear cells on the basis of their different buoyant densities revealed the presence of DNA-synthesizing BFU-E in normal human blood. Either DNA-synthesizing BFU-E have a higher buoyant density than non-DNA-synthesizing BFU-E, or else cells of lower buoyant density normally inhibit DNA synthesis in BFU-E.

Interleukin 3 opposes the action of negative regulatory protein (NRP) and of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) in their inhibition of DNA synthesis of the erythroid stem cell BFU-E.

DNA synthesis of the early erythropoietic progenitor cell (erythroid burst-forming unit, BFU-E) is inhibited by a growth factor that we have called negative regulatory protein (NRP). This protein appears to act during the S-phase of the cell cycle and to be specific to the BFU-E. It is nontoxic and its action is readily reversible by washing the cells. Erythropoietic burst formation by BFU-E in culture is promoted by interleukin 3 (IL-3). In the present work, using the hydroxyurea suicide assay method, we investigated the effects on DNA synthesis of exposing BFU-E of mouse bone marrow in vitro to NRP, IL-3, and combinations of NRP and IL-3. We found that the action of NRP on BFU-E DNA synthesis was opposed by IL-3 within the 45 min that it took to carry out the cell suicide assay. We also studied transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and found that its action on DNA synthesis of BFU-E was identical to that of NRP in time scale, reversibility, and opposition by IL-3, although the two have different molecular properties. According to the competence-progression model, regulation of cell proliferation occurs at two sites: 1) the G0 to G1 transition, where competence factors (e.g., platelet-derived growth factor [PDGF] and interleukin 1 [IL-1]) act, and 2) during G1-phase, where progression factors (e.g., interleukin 2 [IL-2] and IL-3) act. Our data indicate that cell proliferation may also be regulated at a third site, during S-phase. Here, the decision as to whether or not DNA synthesis will proceed appears to depend on a balance between positive and negative regulatory signals.

Immunosuppression after injection of Friend virus into C57BL/6 mice of different ages.

Injection with Friend virus (FV) causes immunosuppression in young and old C57BL/6 mice, i.e. it occurs whether or not the virus replicates very briefly or for a long period. There are only minor age-related differences in the extent of immunosuppression, except that suppression appears to persist somewhat longer in old than in young animals.

Friend virus replication as a function of age.

We have investigated the effect of age on the replication of Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV). Recovery of SFFV from the spleens of four strains of mice was determined following intravenous infection with NB-tropic Friend virus (FV) complex at ages ranging from 6 to 134 weeks. In C57BL/6 mice, the virus did not replicate in adults up to 40 weeks of age, but beyond that there was a steep exponential increase with age in the amounts of SFFV recoverable. In C3H/He mice, which replicate the virus as young adults, the amount of SFFV recovered was 6-fold greater in old than in young mice. Recovery of virus was biphasic with age in SJL mice; in A strain mice no consistent change with age was noted. In C57BL/6 mice, reconstitution of lethally irradiated recipients with syngeneic marrow cells, followed by i.v. infection with FV, showed that the amounts of SFFV recovered depended on the age of the recipient. The present work shows that Friend SFFV replication is a sensitive indicator and can be used as a tool for the investigation of aging processes. The mechanisms responsible for the age-dependent change in regulation of virus replication and for the polymorphism remain to be determined.

Superoxide dismutase as an inhibitor of erythroid progenitor cell cycling.

C57Bl/6 (B6) mice and mice of a congeneic strain, B6S, differ in the proportions of erythroid progenitor cells (BFU-E) typically seen in DNA synthesis in in vivo cell suicide assays, and bone marrow supernatants (MS) prepared from B6 mice can inhibit BFU-E cycling in vitro. Using in vitro BFU-E DNA synthesis assays and a model system of BFU-E in culture (DA-1 cells) as screening methods for the detection of inhibitors of BFU-E cycling, we have purified the protein that is apparently responsible for the inhibitory effects of MS on progenitor cells and that is also an antagonist of the stimulatory effects of interleukin-3 (IL-3) on DA-1 cell proliferation in culture. We have identified this protein as the Cu,Zn-containing form of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), which is normally present in large amounts in erythrocytes. MS from B6S mice does not inhibit BFU-E DNA synthesis. However, measurements of SOD activity showed no differences between B6 and B6S mice; thus the difference between the effects of B6S-MS and B6-MS is not due to differences in the levels of SOD present. The inhibitory effects of SOD on BFU-E in vitro are opposed by the stimulatory effects of IL-3 in a dose-dependent manner, and similar interactions between stimulatory and inhibitory factors also appear to determine the effects of mouse-derived preparations on erythroid cells. If the interactions seen in vitro are applicable to the state in vivo, SOD may be a constitutive inhibitor of erythroid progenitor cell cycling in mice, acting in opposition to stimulatory factors whose expression varies in response to genetic and physiological influences.

Erythropoietin-independent erythroid colony formation in vitro by hemopoietic cells of mice infected with friend virus.

We have investigated the production of erythroid colonies in plasma culture by bone-marrow and spleen cells taken form C3Hf/Bi mice previously infected with a polycythemic strain of Friend virus (FV). Inclusion of erythropoietin (Epo) in the medium was found unnecessary for erythroid colony formation in vitro by these cells, although it was essential for the production of erythroid colonies by hemopoietic cells from normal animals. Development of erythroid colonies also proceeded umimpeded when cells from FV-infected animals were cultivated in medium pretreated with rabbit anti-serum that was shown to inactivate Epo. Thus, the hemopoietic tissues of FV-infected mice contained erythroid colony-forming units (CFU-Es) which appeared to be Epo-independent. When spleen cells from FV-infected mice were exposed to antiserum directed against syngeneic FV-infected spleen cells and complement, and then cultured with or without Epo, the number of erythroid colonies that developed was drastically reduced, indicating that the CFU-Es in these animals carried FV-induced antigen(s), and must themselves have been infected with virus. Electron microscopy of erythroid colonies produced by cells from FV-infected mice revealed the presence of budding and abundant free type-C virus particles. The efficiency of erythroid colony formation in vitro either with or without Epo by hemopoietic cells from FV-infected mice was substantially increased over that of cells from normal mice. The increase in the number of CFU-Es in these animals was due mainly to an increase in the number of Epo-independent CFU-Es. Epo-independent CFU-Es were first detected in bone marrow and spleen as early as 3 days after FV infection; thereafter their numbers progressively increased for at least 9 days. Hypertransfusion with red blood cells prior to FV infection reduced, while bleeding greatly increased, the efficiency of erythoid colony formation without Epo by cells from the spleens of the infected mice. The phenomenon of erythroid colony formation in plasma cultures lacking Epo provides a sensitive and reliable means of detecting Epo-independent CFU-Es, which appear to play a fundamental part in pathogenesis of the disease resulting from infection with the polycythemic strain of FV.

Effect of Friend leukemia virus on megakaryocytes and platelets in mice.

The thrombocytopenia that follows infection of C3H/Bi mice with Friend leukemia virus (FV) has been investigated. At various times after infection, megakaryocytes in bone marrow and spleen were collected on Nuclepore filters, stained with the Feulgen procedure, and counted. At the same times, platelets in circulating blood were enumerated by the direct method of Brecher et al., 1963 We found that megakaryocyte numbers decreased within 3 days of infection; platelet numbers began to fall at 7 to 9 days. At 11 days megakaryocyte numbers in femoral marrow and spleen were reduced to less than one-third of control values, platelets to about one-quarter of control values. The data are compatible with the hypothesis that the thrombocytopenia which occurs after FV infection in mice results from the reduction in megakaryocytes that is brought about by the infection. Whether all classes of megakaryocytes are equally affected by FV was next examined. At various times following infection, megakaryocytes in marrow suspensions were concentrated by unit gravity sedimentation and microspectrophotometric measurements of nuclear DNA content were made. The kinetic data showed that, following FV infection, megakaryocytes of high nuclear DNA content were markedly reduced in number, but those of low nuclear DNA content were relatively unaffected. Thus the virus infection may interfere with the normal sequential doubling in DNA content of megakaryocytes and/or it may lead to preferential elimination by the host of those megakaryocytes in the higher DNA classes.

Production of erythropoietic bursts by progenitor cells from adult human peripheral blood in an improved serum-free medium: role of insulinlike growth factor 1.

Several culture media for the growth of human circulating erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E) that have been claimed to be "serum-free" ("SF") have actually included albumin preparations known to be contaminated with an undefined burst-promoting activity (BPA); a BPA has also been found in the preparations of other "SF" medium components. This has precluded reliable investigation of the growth factor (GF) requirements of these progenitors. Using a defatted, BPA-free bovine serum albumin (BSA) and the recombinant human growth factors (GFs) erythropoietin (rHu Epo), insulinlike growth factor 1 (rHu IGF-1), and interleukin-3 (rHu IL-3), we have developed an improved serum-free (SF) medium for the production of erythroid bursts from normal adult human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC), which requires both hemin and retinyl acetate for its optimal performance. In the presence of BSA without IL-3 or Epo, no burst or colony formation was observed. With IL-3 and Epo alone, only a small number of day 14 erythroid colonies was obtained (12 +/- 1/10(5) PBMNC). Addition of hemin (0.1 mmol/L) allowed the direct scoring of day 14 hemoglobinized colonies and increased their number sevenfold (86 +/- 5). Inclusion of retinyl acetate at physiologic concentrations further augmented the number of colonies threefold to fourfold. Under these apparently optimal conditions, we found that IGF-I could entirely replace Epo. However, IGF-I required a 100-fold higher molar concentration than that of Epo to reach maximal stimulation. The combined effect of Epo and IGF-I was found to be less than the sum of their individual effects, suggesting an overlap in the sensitivities of erythroid progenitors to these GFs. The colony-forming efficiencies of erythroid progenitors in the improved SF medium was very high: 700 single, day 14 erythroid colonies/10(5) PB MNC (at 0.25 mmol/L hemin) distributed as 126 clusters (bursts), with a mean of 5.6 component colonies per burst. These findings show that IGF-I has an Epo-like activity that targets circulating early erythroid progenitors or their progeny, providing strong evidence for the existence of an Epo-independent pathway for normal human adult erythropoiesis, possibly operative when Epo levels are low.

Retinyl acetate and all-trans-retinoic acid enhance erythroid colony formation in vitro by circulating human progenitors in an improved serum-free medium.

Retinyl acetate (RA) dramatically increased the production of early (d16) erythroid colonies in vitro by circulating human progenitor cells growing in an improved serum-free (SF) medium. In the absence of either erythropoietin (Epo) or insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), RA alone was able to induce the hemoglobinization of cells in these erythroid colonies. RA synergized with Epo or with IGF-I to yield increased numbers of well-hemoglobinized early colonies. In the presence of defined burst promoting activity (BPA) provided by recombinant human interleukin 3 (rHuIL-3) and hemin, RA and all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) were identical with respect to their differentiation-inducing function for early erythroid colonies. ATRA increased the number of these colonies in a concentration-dependent manner, with maximal stimulation (3.5-fold) occurring at 30 nM in the presence of 5.5 ng/ml IL-3, 0.1 mM hemin, 3.0 U/ml Epo and 30 nM IGF-I. This appears to be the first demonstration of erythropoietic activity of two metabolic derivatives of vitamin A in SF medium.

Fv-2 locus controls the proportion of erythropoietic progenitor cells (BFU-E) synthesizing DNA in normal mice.

We have found that Fv-2 on chromosome 9 of the mouse, the locus originally identified as a major determinant of host susceptibility (Fv-2s) or resistance (Fv-2r) to Friend leukemia virus in mice, also functions in uninfected animals, where it determines whether a high (Fv-2s) or low (Fv-2r) proportion of erythropoietic progenitor cells BFU-E are normally engaged in DNA synthesis. Adult mice belonging to five inbred strains of genotype Fv-2rr, two inbred strains and three congenic strains of genotype Fv-2ss, two kinds of F1 hybrid of genotype Fv-2rs, and appropriate controls were given high specific activity 3H--thymidine intravenously for 1 hr and their bone marrow and spleen cells were assayed for surviving BFU-E at 7 days and CFU-E at 2 days in plasma culture. A high proportion of BFU-E in all Fv-2ss and Fv-2rs mice were killed, but all or nearly all of the BFU-E in Fv-2rr mice survived exposure to 3H--thymidine. The allelic difference of Fv-2 had no significant effect on the proportion of other progenitor or stem cells (CFU-E, CFU-C or CFU-S) normally undergoing DNA synthesis in the hemopoietic tissues, or on the hemoglobin concentration, red blood cells, hematocrit, total of differential white blood cell counts in the peripheral blood of these animals. While a few or no BFU-E were killed by 3H--thymidine in adult B6 (Fv-2rr) mice, a high proportion of BFU-E were killed by 3H--thymidine in these animals when they were less than 7 weeks old. Bleeding of adult B6 mice or lethal irradiation followed by repopulation by syngeneic bone marrow cells rendered a high proportion of their BFU-E vulnerable to 3H--thymidine. BFU-E of adult B6 mice which in vivo were unaffected by 3H--thymidine were rapidly killed when exposed to 3H--thymidine in vitro. Fv-2 thus seems to act at or near the G1-S or G0-S boundary to influence the rate or probability of transition between the nonDNA-synthesizing and the DNA-synthesizing states of BFU-E. The gene that controls susceptibility or resistance to a murine erythroleukemia virus appears also to be a regulatory gene that controls the proliferative behaviour of normal cells at a specific stage of erythropoietic differentiation.