Alpha-interferon: differential suppression of colony growth from human erythroid, myeloid, and megakaryocytic hematopoietic progenitor cells

• Published in: Journal of interferon research Vol. 6; no. 3; p. 199
• Main Authors: Mazur, E M, Richtsmeier, W J, South, K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.06.1986
• Subjects: Colony-Forming Units Assay; Erythropoiesis - drug effects; Granulocytes - cytology; Granulocytes - drug effects; Hematopoiesis - drug effects; Hematopoietic Stem Cells - cytology; Hematopoietic Stem Cells - drug effects; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Interferon Type I - pharmacology; Macrophages - cytology; Macrophages - drug effects; Megakaryocytes - cytology; Megakaryocytes - drug effects
• ISSN: 0197-8357
• DOI: 10.1089/jir.1986.6.199

The effect of varying concentrations of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) on the in vitro colony growth from all single-lineage human hematopoietic colony-forming progenitor cells was evaluated. IFN-alpha was tested at concentrations of 0, 2, 20, and 200 U/ml in optimally stimulated bone marrow cultures from each of 4 volunteer donors. Substantial donor-to-donor variability and distinct, lineage-specific patterns of stem cell sensitivity to IFN-alpha were observed. In the erythroid series, the more primitive progenitor or burst-forming unit (BFU-E) was substantially more resistant to growth inhibition at low IFN-alpha concentrations than the mature colony-forming unit (CFU-E). Colony growth by the megakaryocyte progenitor cell (CFU-Meg) was decreased by all concentrations of IFN-alpha which produced a biphasic, inhibitory dose response. The response of the colony-forming unit granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) was heterogeneous among the donors tested. CFU-GM growth from 2 donors was insensitive to IFN-alpha at all concentrations. Conversely, CFU-GM from the other 2 donors manifested a steep dose-response curve that was similar to that of the CFU-E. These data demonstrate a heterogeneity of progenitor cell sensitivity to growth suppression by IFN-alpha which appears to be influenced by (i) hematopoietic lineage, (ii) degree of differentiation of the progenitor cell, and (iii) individual variability.