The effect of cyclic AMP on human colony forming cell and colony stimulating factor production.

The effect of cyclic AMP (cAMP) and related nucleotides on human colony forming cells (CFC) and those cells producing colony stimulating factor (CSF) was studied in vitro. When added at physiological concentrations (10(-2) to 1 micron), exogenous cAMP stimulated maximum colony formation in cultures without feeder layers. Related nucleotides stimulated colony formation to a lesser extent and in decreasing order of free energy. All nucleotides inhibited colony formation in concentrations above 1 micron. A velocity sedimentation cell separation technique was used to obtain cell fractions rich in CFC but poor in CSF-producing cells. Such fractions did not respond to cAMP stimulation. These studies suggest that exogenous cAMP stimulates human bone marrow to form colonies in vitro by increasing the release and/or production of endogenous CSF.