Hepcidin inhibits in vitro erythroid colony formation at reduced erythropoietin concentrations

The anemia of chronic disease (ACD) results from 3 major processes: slightly shortened red cell survival, impaired reticuloendothelial system iron mobilization, and impaired erythropoiesis. Hepcidin is an acute-phase protein with specific iron regulatory properties, which, along with the anemia seen with increased hepcidin expression, have led many to consider it the major mediator of ACD. However, if hepcidin is the major factor responsible for ACD, then it should also contribute to the impaired erythropoiesis observed in this syndrome. Erythroid colony formation in vitro was inhibited by hepcidin at erythropoietin (Epo) concentrations less than or equal to 0.5 U/mL but not at Epo 1.0 U/mL. At Epo concentrations of 0.3 U/mL, HCD57 erythroleukemia cells exposed to hepcidin exhibit decreased expression of the antiapoptotic protein pBad compared with controls. These studies suggest that hepcidin may contribute to anemia in ACD not only through effects on iron metabolism, but also through inhibition of erythroid progenitor proliferation and survival.     

Selective stimulation by mouse spleen cell conditioned medium of human eosinophil colony formation

Stimulation of unfractionated or nonadherent human marrow cells in agar culture by pokeweed-mitogen-stimulated BALB/c mouse spleen cell conditioned medium (SCM) led, in most cultures, to the exclusive formation of eosinophil colonies. The culture system exhibited linearity of eosinophil colony formation with varying numbers of cells cultured, and the absolute numbers and size of SCM-stimulated eosinophil colonies approximated those in cultures stimulated by human placental conditioned medium. The active factor in SCM for human eosinophil colony formation was not clearly separable from the factors stimulating granulocyte-macrophage and eosinophil colony formation by mouse marrow cells on ammonium sulfate and phenyl boronate chromatography, but was of larger size than the mouse-active factors and separable from them by phenyl sepharose chromatography. This selective culture system for eosinophil colony formation should be of value for studies on human eosinophil progenitor and maturing cell populations in a variety of disease states.     

In vitro assay for erythropoietin: erythroid colony formation in methyl cellulose used for the measurement of erythropoietin in plasma.

Erythroid colony formation in methyl cellulose has been used for the measurement of erythropoietin in plasma. Livers from newborn mice less than 24 hr old were found to provide convenient target cells. Newborn mouse liver contains a substantial number of erythroid colony-forming cells (CFU-e) that have a high sensitivity to erythropoietin, the dose--response curve for erythropoietin reaching a plateau at 50 mU/ml. As little as 0.5 m/ml of the hormone is detectable. Removal of cells that adhered to glass prior to culturing doubled the number of colonies formed in the presence of erythropoietin. Addition of untreated plasmas that showed high erythropoietin titers in the exhypoxic polycythemic mice assay gave variable results. Some of the plasmas stimulated colony formation actively and in a linear fashion. However, the majority of the plasmas were toxic to the cultures. Dialyzing the plasmas for 3 days against distilled water effectively removed the toxicity. Results obtained with the method are in good agreement with the values found using the exhypoxic polycythemic mice assay.     

In vitro erythropoietin assay based on erythroid colony formation in fetal mouse liver cell culture

Critical studies were made on erythroid colony formation from cultured fetal mouse liver cells in an attempt to develop a simple and sensitive erythropoietin (Epo) assay procedure. The maximum colony formation was observed 24 h after plating of the cells when an evident dose-response relation was found for Epo added. The colony forming ability decreased steadily as the gestational age of the fetus advanced and was gradually lost by postnatal days 10-11. By morphological and cytochemical criteria almost all the colonies were found to be erythroid. 59Fe-labelling experiments revealed a fairly good correlation between the colony number and 59Fe incorporation into both cells and haem. Dose-response curves for plasma were parallel to the Epo standard curve. Based on these findings we developed a procedure which could measure as little as 0.4 mU of Epo without requiring 59Fe. Using this method, plasma Epo titres were determined in 16 normal and 69 anaemic subjects.     

Interleukin 3 promotes erythroid burst formation in "serum-free" cultures without detectable erythropoietin.

Erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E) from mouse bone marrow were grown for 7 days in agar or serum-free methylcellulose cultures in the presence or absence of erythropoietin (Ep) and/or interleukin 3 (IL-3). It was found that IL-3, even in the absence of serum and detectable Ep, was able to stimulate the full development of many erythroid bursts. This IL-3 effect was cell-dose dependent and did not appear to correlate with Ep dose. Spontaneous bursts and those stimulated by Ep only were rare and when seen were very small relative to those produced by IL-3 or IL-3 plus Ep. When addition of IL-3 or Ep to 7-day cultures was delayed, IL-3 but not Ep was shown to maintain BFU-E. No evidence was found by radioimmunoassay that Ep was produced or released in 7-day, "serum-free" cultures of bone marrow nor was Ep activity detected in culture media except those to which it had been added deliberately.     

Effects of erythropoietin on erythroid colony formation in uremic rabbit bone marrow cultures.

Erythropoietin-responsive stem cell (ERC) kinetics in anephric uremic rabbits were studied in vitro using the growth of erythroid colonies in a methyl cellulose system in cultures with and without the addition of erythropoietin (ESF). Approximately 68 hr after bilateral nephrectomy, an increase in BUN and decreases in hematocrit and marrow erythroid cellularity were seen. However, the numbers of erythroid colonies formed in response to ESF on plates inoculated with 2 times 10-5 cells were greater in anephric rabbit marrows than in normal controls. In addition, the numbers of erythroid colonies produced by the uremic and normal marrows in the presence of ESF were increased in proportion to the number of precursors plated. These findings suggest that, in uremia, the concentration of ERC is increased and that the ERC are capable of responding normally to ESF. The increase in the number of erythroid colonies of uremia may be due to the undisturbed flow of uncommitted hematopoietic stem cells into the ERC compartment in the presence of a delay of differentiation of ERC into heme-synthesizing nucleated erythroid cells due to a lack of ESF.     

Effects of testosterone and erythropoietin on erythroid colony formation in human bone marrow cultures.

The effects of testosterone and erythropoietin (ESF) on erythroid colony formation in normal human bone marrow cultures were studied in vitro using a methyl cellulose gel system. Testosterone was found to produce a significant increase in erythroid colony formation at concentrations of 10-4-10-4M in vitro. In this system, the numbers of erythroid colonies formed per plate increased in direct proportion to the increase in the number of erythroid precursors inoculated as well as to the increase in the dose of ESF in vitro. In addition, a synergistic effect of a combination of testosterone and ESF on erythroid colony formation was seen when ESF was present at high concentrations. These data suggest that a greater number of erythropoietin-responsive cells are available for ESF to differentiate into the nucleated erythroid cell line in the presence of testosterone, indicating that the effect of a combination of testosterone and ESF is greater in enhancing erythropoiesis than the additive effects of either agent alone.     

Stimulation by human placental conditioned medium of hemopoietic colony formation by human marrow cells.

Medium conditioned by human placental tissue was found to stimulate granulocytic and monocytic colony formation by human marrow cells in semisolid agar cultures. The colony-stimulating activity of unfractionated conditioned medium was equivalent to the activity of standard peripheral blood underlayers. Placentas were a reliable source of active material, and one placenta provided enough material to stimulate 5,000-10,000 cultures of normal or leukemic cells. The colony-stimulating factor in human placental conditioned medium (CSFHPCM) was concentrated and purified 1800-fold using ammonium sulfate precipitation, calcium phosphate gel absorption, DEAE-cellulose batch absorption, gel filtration on Sephadex G-150, and polyarcylamide gel gel electrophoresis. The active factor behaved on gel filtration as a macromolecule with an apparent molecular weight of 30,000 daltons. The active factor in placental conditioned medium was not dependent on the presence of adherent marrow cells with endogenous colony-stimulating activity.     

Inhibition of human erythroid colony formation by ceramide.

In previous studies, we have demonstrated that the inhibitory effects of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin (IL)-1 on human erythroid colony formation are indirect and mediated by beta and gamma interferon (IFN), respectively, which act directly upon erythroid colony forming units (CFU-E). The in vitro inhibitory effect of gammaIFN but not betaIFN is reversed by exposure to high concentrations of recombinant human (rh) erythropoietin (EPO). Ceramide, a product of sphingomyelin hydrolysis, is a known mediator of apoptotic effects of TNF, IL-1, and gammaIFN. In this report, the effects of ceramide on CFU-E colony formation and its implication in the model described above are evaluated. Endogenous ceramide produced by exposure to bacterial sphingomyelinase (0.2-2.0 U/mL) and exogenous cell-permeable ceramide (C2-ceramide; 5 and 10 mM) significantly inhibited bone marrow CFU-E colony formation. This effect was reversed by the ceramide antagonist sphingosine-1-phosphate (S-1-P). Inhibition of CFU-E by rhgammaIFN, but not rhbetaIFN, was significantly reversed by S-1-P. rhEPO 10 U/mL reversed CFU-E inhibition by C2-ceramide 10 mM. Exposure of marrow cells to rhgammaIFN led to a 57% increase in ceramide content. The present study demonstrates that colony formation by human CFU-E is inhibited by endogenous and exogenous ceramide, and that inhibition by rhgammaIFN can be reversed by the ceramide antagonist S-1-P. Inhibition of CFU-E colony formation by ceramide and by are both reversed by high concentrations of rhEPO. These findings strongly suggest that ceramide mediates inhibition of human CFU-E colony formation by gammaIFN.     

Insulin-like growth factor I stimulates human erythroid colony formation in vitro

The effects of human GH and insulin-like growth factor I on the proliferation and differentiation of erythroid progenitor cells from the bone marrow and peripheral blood of children were studied in a hormone-depleted culture system. Growth of erythroid progenitors was quantified by directly scoring colonies and by biochemical determination of the activity of a cytosolic enzyme of the heme pathway, uroporphyrinogen I synthase. In the presence of erythropoietin, high concentrations (50-100 ng/mL) of human GH induced an increase in the number of erythroid colonies (and their uroporphyrinogen I synthase activity) formed by bone marrow or peripheral blood erythroid precursors. In the same conditions, physiological concentrations of insulin-like growth factor I (0.5-1 ng/mL) stimulated erythroid cell growth and differentiation (P less than 0.03) from bone marrow or peripheral blood.     

Erythropoiesis in vitro. III. The role of potassium ions in erythroid colony formation.

The role of potassium as an essential promotor of erythroid progenitor growth (BFU-e & CFU-e) from normal murine hematopoietic tissues was studied. Dialyzed fetal calf serum, over a wide range of concentrations, was shown to reduce the numbers of BFU-e and CFU-e that could be cultured from normal murine bone marrow. A dose-dependent addition of 1 M KC1 restored erythroid progenitor colony growth to the levels generally seen when normal, non-dialyzed fetal calf serum was used. Furthermore, when [K] was increased in some human urinary and sheep plasma erythropoietin preparations, the number of erythroid progenitor cells cultured also increased. This influence is crucial to the differentiation of committed stem cells into the erythroid pathway and must therefore be considered in the development of serum-free growth media.     

Modulation of murine in vitro erythroid and granulopoietic colony formation by ouabain, digoxin and theophylline

Ouabain has been shown to increase the number of clonally derived erythroid stem cells, CFUE and BFUE, from normal murine bone marrow. We report here that digoxin and theophylline also enhance erythroid stem cell colony formation, in the presence of suboptimal concentrations of erythropoietin (Ep) (0.01 IU/ml) in methylcellulose culture. Both digoxin and theophylline increased CFUE colony formation optimally at 10(-8) M (29-81% respectively). The increase in BFUE colony formation occurred at 10(-10) M (35-76% respectively), suggesting that BFUE are more sensitive to the enhancing properties of these compounds. In addition, digoxin theophylline and ouabain were effective inhibitors of clonally derived granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cells, CFUC, from normal murine marrow plated in double layer agar in the presence of 10% L-cell conditioned medium (LCM). The degree of reduction in colony formation by CFUC ranged from 11% to 100%. Digoxin and theophylline were inhibitory for CFUC in the range of 10(-2) to 10(-12) M; however, ouabain was inhibitory over a broader concentration range of 10(-4) to 10(-18) M, suggesting that ouabain has a greater influence on committed hematopoietic progenitor cell colony formation. Both ouabain and digoxin have the property of binding to Na+/K+ATPase. This may mediate the alteration of hematopoietic differentiation. Theophylline, an adenyl cyclase inhibitor, may act through alterations in cyclic nucleotide levels. These studies further indicate that digoxin, theophylline and ouabain may serve as useful tools in elucidating the underlying mechanisms of how specific growth factors influence hematopoietic growth and differentiation.     

Colony formation by bone marrow cells after incubation with neuraminidase. II. Sensitivity of erythroid progenitor cells for burst promoting activity and erythropoietin and restoration of reduced spleen colony formation in mice pretreated with desialated erythrocyte membrane fragments

Incubation of bone marrow cells (BMC) with neuraminidase (NA) reduces their ability to form colonies in the spleen of lethally irradiated mice. In vivo the largest reduction was observed in the erythrocytic colonies, whereas in vitro an inhibiting effect of NA incubation was observed on the plating efficiency of erythrocyte precursors (CFUE and day 7 BFUE). Masking of the receptors for neuraminidase-treated cell surface determinants in the recipient's body by infection of desialated erythrocytes (NA-Ery) or erythrocyte membrane fragments (NA-Efr) did largely restore the reduced colony formation of NA-BMC with respect to both the total number of spleen colonies and their type. Pretreatment of irradiated host with NA-Ery, but with NA-Efr, led to a slight polycythemia as judged by the number of erythrocytic and undifferentiated colonies as well as by the surface colony diameter. The reduced erythrocytic colony formation of NA-BMC was considerably enhanced in anemic irradiated recipients (from 25-70% of respective controls). Under all experimental circumstances the erythrocytic colony formation of NA-BMC never exceeded that of normal BMC (N-BMC). Further, in normal or anemic recipients whether or not treated with NA-Efr, the diameters of the spleen surface colonies in NA-BMC injected animals were smaller than in recipients of control-incubated BMC. In vitro experimentation indicated that the reduced plating efficiency of CFUE and BFUE following incubation could not be attributed to a decreased sensitivity to erythropoietin. However, day 7 BFUE with deficient cell surface sialic acid residues had a decreased sensitivity to burst promoting activity. Among several other explanations, our data support the possibility that the desialated colony forming cells that give rise to erythrocytic colonies in vivo have higher requirements for early regulatory factors than granulocytic precursor cells. In contrast to the normal postirradiation situation the level of these factors could be increased in recipients, which are bled subsequently to irradiation. Evidence is presented in support of our concept that neuraminidase-treated CFU are fully capable to exhibit normal, although delayed, colony formation in vivo in animals with covered receptors for galactosyl residues.     

Self-renewal of hemopoietic stem cells during mixed colony formation in vitro.

Replating experiments have shown that the self-renewal of pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells can be studied in vitro by clonal analysis techniques. The number of daughter stem cells detectable in individual primary clones produced in vitro varies markedly from one clone to another. These findings are consistent with a general model of stem cell differentiation in which the choice to self-replicate or not is ultimately determined at the single-cell level by a mechanism involving a random-event component that is intrinsic to the stem cell itself. Hemopoietic stem cells were identified by their ability to generate macroscopic-sized colonies having a visible erythroid component (i.e., gross red color) in standard methylcellulose assays containing medium conditioned by pokeweed mitogen-treated spleen cells and erythropoietin. In assays of replated primary or secondary colonies, inclusion of irradiated marrow-cell feeders was found to be an additional requirement. The mixed erythroid-megakaryocyte-granulocyte nature of colonies identified simply as macroscopic and erythroid was confirmed by cytochemical stains for lineage-specific markers. Marked variation in self-renewal was a feature of marrow stem cells both before and after maintenance in flask culture, although the overall self-renewal capacity exhibited by flask-cultured cells was approximately 5-fold higher. Variation in self-renewal was not correlated with primary colony size, which also varied over a wide range (0.2-9 X 10(5) nucleated cells per colony). Variation in stem cell self-renewal has been previously associated with hemopoietic stem cell proliferation in vivo. Its persistence in vitro in assays of dilute single-cell suspensions casts doubt on the significance of microenvironmental influences in directing stem cell differentiation.     

Inhibition of murine erythroid colony formation in vitro by interferon gamma and correction by interferon receptor immunoadhesin

It has been previously reported that inhibition of human erythroid colony-forming units (CFU-E) in vitro by interleukin-1 (IL-1) is an indirect effect, occurring through the production of interferon gamma (IFN gamma). IFN gamma, in turn, inhibits CFU-E colony formation directly, and its inhibitory effect can be overcome by exposure to high concentrations of erythropoietin (EPO). To develop an in vitro animal model for investigating inhibition of erythropoiesis by IFN gamma, the effects of recombinant murine (rm) IFN gamma on highly purified CFU-E from the spleens of mice infected with the anemia strain of the Friend virus (FVA) were studied. rmIFN gamma inhibited CFU-E colony formation in a dose-dependent manner. This inhibition occurred with large (> or = 8 cell) colonies only; smaller colonies were not affected. The inhibitory effect was corrected to 72% of control by high EPO concentrations of 64 U/mL. Murine CFU-E were then cultured with rmIFN gamma in the presence of a soluble murine IFN gamma receptor fused to the hinge and Fc domains of the human IgG1 heavy chain (mIFN gamma R- IgG). Inhibition of CFU-E colony formation by rmIFN gamma (100 U/mL) was corrected by mIFN gamma R-IgG in a dose-dependent manner, with an approximate IC50 of 0.05 nmol/L, and complete or near complete correction at 0.5 nmol/L. Similarly, a human IFN gamma R-IgG greatly reduced the inhibitory effect of recombinant human IFN gamma on human CFU-E. These experiments provide an in vitro animal model for studying the inhibitory effects of IFN gamma on erythropoiesis and indicate that IFN gamma R-IgG may be a useful agent for reducing the toxicity of IFN gamma in vivo.     

Spontaneous erythroid colony formation in Brazilian patients with sickle cell disease.

The ability of circulating progenitor cells to develop erythroid colonies was studied in vitro in the presence or absence of growth factors (5637-CM and erythropoietin) in 63 patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) (36 homozygotes for hemoglobin [Hb] S, 13 double heterozygotes for Hb S and beta thalassemia, and 14 SC patients) in Southeast Brazil. In the presence of growth factors, SCD patients (all genotypes) presented significantly higher numbers of circulating burst-forming unit-erythroid (BFU-E/5 x 10(5) MNC), when compared with control subjects. However, when the progenitor cells were cultured in the absence of added stimulus, high numbers of BFU-E were observed only in the genotypes SS and S/beta thalassemia. SC patients presented a similar response to the control subjects. Moreover, there was an inverse correlation between spontaneous (without stimulus) BFU-E and Hb levels in SCD patients. These results suggest that the formation of spontaneous BFU-E observed in SCD may be due to an expanded erythropoiesis secondary to hemolysis.     

Effects of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and erythropoietin on leukemic erythroid colony formation in human early erythroblastic leukemias

Erythroid colonies from five patients with an early erythroblastic leukemia were obtained in "serum-free" cultures in the presence or absence of recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and homogeneous native erythropoietin (Epo). Erythroid colonies with abnormal morphology and karyotype could be grown in different culture conditions. Their erythroid nature was ascertained by the presence of carbonic anhydrase I and glycophorin A. Leukemic erythroid progenitors strongly differed from normal progenitors in that spontaneous colonies were always obtained, sometimes with an extremely high plating efficiency (up to 5.7%). Colonies were found to be autonomous from exogenous hematopoietic growth factors because they were still obtained with a high plating efficiency at an average of one cell per culture in the absence of any added growth factor. No evidence for an autocrine secretion of Epo or GM-CSF emerged because Epo or GM- CSF could not be detected by biologic or radioimmunologic assays from the culture supernatant or cellular extracts of the leukemic cells and that Epo or GM-CSF antibodies did not block autonomous growth. In all cases, however, hematopoietic growth factors increased the plating efficiency of the abnormal erythroid progenitors. In the two "de novo" leukemias, leukemic erythroid progenitors responded primarily to Epo, whereas in the three other patients' (chronic myeloid leukemia) blast crisis they responded maximally to GM-CSF plus Epo. Recombinant erythroid-potentiating activity had no effect in any of these cases. These results suggest that the leukemic erythroid clonogenic cells arise from expansion of erythroid progenitors at different levels of differentiation (ie, CFU-E or BFU-E, depending upon the disease) and that autonomous growth is not related to a secretion of Epo or GM-CSF.     

Effect of culture conditions on in vitro erythroid colony formation in myelodysplastic syndromes

In vitro colony formation by erythroid progenitors from the bone marrow was studied in 42 patients with a myelodysplastic syndrome using both a standard assay for growing erythroid colonies and an assay designed for growing megakaryocyte colonies. In the standard assay 5 patients had normal numbers of erythroid burst-forming unit (BFU-E) colonies, 8 showed reduced numbers of colonies, and 29 patients had no colony formation. Six patients with markedly reduced numbers of erythroid colonies or no colonies at all in the standard assay showed normal or increased numbers of erythroid colonies in the megakaryocyte assay. In three of these patients the erythroid colony morphology was normal, whereas the other three showed abundant diffuse growth of erythroid subclusters with no normal colonies. In the other patients, the erythroid culture results were similar in both assays. These results indicate that the impairment of erythroid colony growth seen in most patients with a myelodysplastic syndrome is, at least in a number of patients, not due to reduced numbers of erythroid progenitors but to unusual milieu requirements of abnormal progenitors.     

In vitro improvement of bone marrow-derived hematopoietic colony formation in HIV-positive patients by alpha-D-tocopherol and erythropoietin

The majority of patients with progressive HIV infection develop a severe hematopoietic failure which is aggravated by the hematotoxic effect of azidothymidine (AZT) treatment. Since it was shown in a mouse model that α-D-tocopherol (vitamin E derivative) antagonizes the inhibitory influence of AZT on the growth of burst-forming units-erythrocyte (BFU-E), it was the aim of this study to investigate whether α-D-tocopherol and high dosages of erythropoietin (EPO) increase the hematopoietic colony-forming capacity of bone marrow cells from patients with progressive HIV disease and especially if they reverse the inhibitory effects of AZT. The data demonstrate that tocopherol (1–100ümol/l) significantly increases the growth of BFU-E and colony-forming units granulocyte-monocyte (CFU-GM) from HIV-infected patients. This stimulatory effect is dose-dependent (maximum at 30–100 μmol/l) and only occurs when the agent is present from the beginning of the cultures. EPO (5–10 U/ml) also augments the numbers of BFU-E from HIV-infected patients. Tocopherol equally ameliorates the growth of BFU-E and CFU-GM from the HIV-positive cohort in the presence of AZT (10–100 μmol/l). For healthy controls, no such increase was observed, either with tocopherol or with higher dosages of EPO. In conclusion, both tocopherol and EPO partially reverse the myelosuppressive action of AZT in HIV-positive patients.