Colony-forming cells with high proliferative potential (HPP-CFC).

Colony-forming cells with a high proliferative potential (HPP-CFC) have been defined by their ability to form large colonies in vitro (diameters greater than 0.5 mm and containing approximately 50,000 cells) in bone marrow cell cultures. The HPP-CFC have been characterized by: 1) a relative resistance to treatment in vivo with the cytotoxic drug 5-fluorouracil, 2) a high correlation with cells capable of repopulating the bone marrow of lethally irradiated mice, 3) their multipotential ability to generate cells of the macrophage, granulocyte, megakaryocyte and erythroid lineages, and 4) their multifactor responsiveness. The HPP-CFC have been described in both mouse and human bone marrow. These properties suggest that the HPP-CFC represent an important cell type in hematopoiesis and provide a model system, particularly in the human, for studying the properties of primitive progenitor cells in vitro.