Growth of bone marrow cells of normal and Rauscher virus infected mice in suspension cultures stimulated by CSA.

Bone marrow cells of normal and Rauscher virus (RLV) infected CBA/J mice were cultured under stimulation by postendotoxin serum. Cellular morphology and the number of granulocytic committed stem cells from day 1-5 after the onset of the cultures were studied with different amounts of postendotoxin serum added. There was a good correlation between total cellularity, the number of immature granulocytopoietic cells and the number of colony forming unit cells (CFUc) in suspension with the amount of postendotoxin serum. Postendotoxin serum delayed the appearance of macrophages in the cultures for 1-2 days. Cells from RLV infected animals showed a rather normal differentiation of the morphological recognisable cells 5 and 21 days after infection, but the CFUc survival in vitro 3 and 5 weeks after infection was reduced.