Erythropoietin-independent regeneration of erythroid progenitor cells following multiple injections of hydroxyurea.

It wa shown previously that colony formation in vitro by early erythroid progenitor cells (BFUe) requires sequential stimulation with a specific glycoprotein termed BFA and erythropoietin (EP). The action exerted by BFA was characterized as induction of proliferation in BFUe resulting after several cell divisions in EP-responsive progeny. The present study is directed at detection of EP-independent regulation of erythroid progenitor cells in vivo. Haemopoietic regeneration was induced by multiple administrations of hydroxyurea (HU). The femoral regeneration patterns of haemopoietic stem cells (CFUs), granulocyte/macrophage progenitor cells (CFUgm) and erythroid progenitor cells (BFUe, day 3 BFUe and CFUe) were studied in hypertransfused mice in comparison to nontransfused controls. The results show that (1) the phase of exponential regeneration of none of the cell populations studied is affected by hypertransfusion; (2) each of these cell populations exhibit a distinct regeneration pattern, indicating that they behave as separate functional entities; and (3) the three erythroid cell populations are suppressed by hypertransfusion in the post-exponential phase of regeneration in contrast to CFUs and CFUgm. The results support a two-regulator model of erythropoiesis.