Acceleration of the hemoglobin switch in cultures in neonate erythroid precursors by adult cells.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Breton-Gorius.
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Monoclonal origin of human lymphocyte colonies grown in agar culture under mitogenic stimulation is still disputed. To solve this question we used different markers: we failed with the G6PD technic and with the successive staining for X and Y chromosomes on individual colonies. Therefore, individual colonies were investigated for the presence of different cell types using membrane receptor identification and cytochemistry. At different stages of the colony formation, presence of a macrophage surrounded by lymphocytes, of a mixture of T cells and B cells, plasma cells and c.Ig negative cells, in the same colony was demonstrated. The mixture of cells from different lineages in individual colonies indicated a polyclonal origin of such colonies, the capacity for the cells to migrate in a short distance, and the involvement of cell-cell contact throughout the colony formation. Human lymphocyte colony formation appears as a new technic for the study of cellular cooperation.
In order to investigate whether the morphological abnormalities observed in congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type III (CDA III) have a cellular or an environmental origin; BFUE from the blood of a patient exhibiting a CDA type III were grown in vitro. The progeny derived from these BFUE were subsequently studied at light and electron microscopic level. Giant multinuclear erythroblasts which represent the most prominent finding of CDA III in bone marrow were also found in culture. Nuclear clefts found in vivo were also observed by electron microscopic studies performed on the erythroblasts growing in vitro. In each erythroid colony, morphologically normal and giant multinuclear erythroblasts were intermingled. This finding indicates that the two populations of erythroblasts derive from the same defective stem cell. The studies by indirect immunofluorescence of i antigen was preferentially expressed in the immature erythroblasts as in culture from normal subjects but not in the giant mature erythroblasts. This finding suggests that the excess of i antigen expression of CDA III in vivo is rather the indirect consequence of a stimulation of erythropoiesis than result of the disease.
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Megakaryocyte colonies can be grown in culture from human blood cells and fetal liver cells in plasma clot containing erythropoietin. Megakaryocyte progenitors were found in a fraction of mononuclear cells isolated by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation from adult, neonatal, and fetal blood. Megakaryocytes were identified by their morphology and particularly by their polylobulated nucleus when examined by light microscopy. The megakaryocytic nature of large cells was clearly confirmed by the presence of platelet peroxidase, demarcation membranes, and alpha-granules detected by electron microscopy; in addition mature small megakaryocytes were recognized. Megakaryocyte colonies were seen after 9 days of culture and consisted of 2 to 20 cells. The colonies were pure or mixed with the burst erythroblasts. The mixed colonies were numerous in fetal and neonatal cultures, while pure megakaryocyte colonies were seen three times more frequently in those from adult blood. The total number of colonies was also much lower in adult cultures. In colonies derived from neonatal and fetal cells, megakaryocytes often reached a more complete maturation than in those from the adults, proceeding as far as platelet shedding. This study demonstrates for the first time that a megakaryocyte committed cell present in human blood can develop megakaryocyte colonies in culture.
Erythroid burst colonies derived from the cord blood of nine neonates and from the blood and liver of three fetuses aborted after 20 weeks of gestation were grown in plasma clot culture. Their quantitative study revealed a higher proportion of burst-forming units (BFU-Es) in cord blood than in cord blood of normal adults. In addition, colony-forming units (CFU-Es) were present in cord blood but absent from adult blood. Study of haemoglobin synthesis in 14-day cultures of cord blood BFU-Es showed a significantly higher degree of Hb A synthesis than was found in reticulocytes from fresh cord blood; this proportion was, however, similar to that expected in vivo about three weeks after birth. These data suggest that the hemoglobin switch is already programmed in most of the early erythroid precursors present in cord blood or full-term neonates and indicate that the differentiation time is probably of the same order of magnitude in vivo and in vitro. The proportion of Hb A and F synthesis in erythroid bursts was not influenced by the concentration of erythropoietin in the range studied--ie, from 0.5 to 12 international units. Low but identical proportions of Hb A synthesis were found both in erythroid cells from liver after two hours of incubation with [3H]-leucine, and in 14-day liver bursts from fetuses aborted at 20 weeks of gestation.
The results of cytological and ultrastructural analysis of erythroid burst colonies derived from the peripheral blood of two patients with HEMPAS have been compared to those obtained in normal controls. Using the plasma clot technique, in studies on 10 subjects we confirmed that most of the colonies consisted or erythroblasts with a synchronous and normal maturation involving a wave of nuclear extrusion at day 13. In contrast, the majority of well-haemoglobinized colonies from HEMPAS consisted of numerous bi- or multinucleated erythroblasts displaying the supplementary double membrane beneath their plasma membrane. This excessive membrane may be present as a continuous or fragmented structure in different erythroblasts from the same colony. These findings suggest that the progeny derived from one BFU-E may vary considerably in their morphological defects. Furthermore, one third of the packed colonies appeared to be formed by non-haemoglobinized cells which were clearly identified by electron microscopy as very early erythroblasts. These cells were unable to mature and subsequently lysed. Thus dyserythropoiesis occurred in culture both at early and late stages of maturation. These studies clearly demonstrate that HEMPAS is a disorder resulting from defective erythroid committed cells.
Twelve cases of Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic granulocytic leukaemia (CGL) in blast transformation have been investigated using ultrastructural peroxidase detection. In all cases, the leukaemic blasts were negative for myeloperoxidase on the basis of standard cytochemistry. In nine cases a variable proportion of blasts contained peroxidase activity detectable only by electron microscopy, permitting definition of their myeloid nature. By their distinct characteristics and localization, different peroxidase activities were recognized. Thus, several types of blasts were identified: megakaryoblasts (MKB), basophil promyelocytes (BPM), myeloid blasts with small granules containing peroxidase (MyB), and proerythroblasts (ProE). MKB were predominant in two cases and present in four cases, mixed with other myeloid blasts. BPM were abundant in one case and present in seven cases. MyB were identified as a majority in four cases. Three cases remained without any peroxidase. It is concluded that ultrastructural detection of peroxidases is of value for the identification of early myeloid blasts. Their high incidence and the simultaneous presence of several myeloid precursors suggest that during the blast crisis the target cell is frequently a pluripotent myeloid stem cell.
Ten cases of acute granulocytic leukemia with blast cells containing Auer bodies (ABs) have been studied by electron microscopy after cytochemical demonstration of myeloperoxidase. The cytochemical dense reaction product has been used as a dark field to visualize unreactive protein of ABs which may then be easily identified by its negative contrast. This method has allowed us to identify three types of ABs which differ in their substructure. In type I, (five patients with promyelocytic leukemia), our study confirmed that all of the ABs consisted of a hexagonal arrangement of hollow tubes. Cells from four cases of acute myeloblastic leukemia displayed type II ABs, in which a unique pattern of protein associated in a regular linear arrangement with well defined periodicity was identified. Type III appeared characteristic of a subclass of acute myeloblastic leukemia in which large inclusions with Chediak-Higashi-like granules containing numerous micro-ABs were seen. The configuration, size, and organization of the protein in the crystal were distinct from those seen in the two other types of ABs. These features suggest that the nature of the protein in ABs may be heterogeneous.
The formation and fine structure of giant granules in neutrophil promyelocytes of a patient with a variant of acute myelogenous leukemia were investigated by electron microscopy. The patient presented with large lymph nodes and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). By light microscopy, numerous giant granules, resembling those of Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS), were present, but Auer bodies could not be found. By electron microscopy, these giant granules were seen to be formed by fusion of azurophilic granules, as in CHS; however, they were different from the large granules of CHS, since they contained numerous microcrystalline structures like those of Auer bodies. However, the crystalline cores of these granules exhibited a periodicity different from that of Auer bodies of acute promyelocytic leukemia. This clinical and hematologic syndrome (giant granules, enlarged lymph nodes, and DIC may represent a variant of acute promyelocytic leukemia.
We report the growth in plasma clot culture of megakaryocyte colonies from adult bone marrow cells with the use of four different sources of erythropoietin (Ep) as the stimulating factor. A major proportion of the megakaryocyte colonies (75%) were pure, while the others were mixed, involving erythroblasts and megakaryocytes. Ultrastructural studies have shown that the maturation of megakaryocytes was essentially normal and that platelet shedding occurred. Megakaryocyte colony formation required a large number of plated cells (greater than 3 X 10(5)/ml). In the absence of erythropoietin, rare spontaneous megakaryocyte colonies could be observed, while no erythroid colonies were present. However, erythropoietin induced a fivefold increase in the total number of colonies. These data suggest that erythropoietin is involved in the differentiation of human megakaryocytes, but that it does not act alone, since another factor related to the number of seeded cells appears essential for the formation of human megakaryocyte colonies.
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Ultrastructural studies of erythroid colonies derived from human peripheral blood and growing in plasma clot culture have confirmed the absence of a macrophage inside each colony of erythroblasts. However, when macrophages and erythroblasts were liberated from the semisolid media by clot lysis, these two types of cells rapidly acquired intimate contacts, suggesting the reconstitution of any erythroblastic island. The possible significance of this phenomenon is discussed.
Human neonatal blood mononuclear cells were seeded in plasma clot containing high dose of a crude erythropietin. Pure megakaryocyte colonies were observed rarely and most of the colonies were mixed, megakaryocytes being located between subcolonies of erythrocytic bursts. The megakaryocytic nature of large cells could be clearly confirmed by the presence of platelet peroxidase, demarcation membranes, and alpha granules detected by electron microscopy; in addition mature micromegakaryocytes were recognized, shedding platelets.
The structure and functions of platelets from a patient in whom albinism and hemorrhagic diathesis were associated have been investigated. Electron microscope studies showed a large reduction in the number of dense bodies and this was confirmed by an examination of fluorescent platelets loaded with mepacrine. The rare dense bodies were much bigger than normally observed; their density was diminished and was localized in a peripheral ring. Other platelet constituents were found to be normal. Platelet peroxidase activity was normal in the canaliculi of the dense tubular system; catalase-positive granules were also present. Serotonin uptake by the patient's platelets was much decreased and reserpine, a potent inhibitor of serotonin accumulation by normal human platelets, did not further decrease this incorporation. The uptake of free 14 C-arachidonic acid by the platelets was greatly diminished, as was its thrombin-induced liberation from phosphatidyl-choline and phosphatidyl inositol. Moreover, platelet phospholipase A1 activity was much reduced and phospholipase A2 activity was undetectable.
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The origin of cells in the blast crisis of some cases of chronic granulocytic leukaemia (CGL) remains controversial. Difficulties arise from the lack of cytochemical characteristics of differentiation. This report concerns the nature of cells in the blast crisis of a case of CGL in which blast cells exhibited an undifferentiated or lymphoid appearance by light and electron microscopy. The majority (90%) of such cells contained a peroxidase in the endoplasmic reticulum distinct from myeloperoxidase. In addition, some micromegakaryocytes could be recognized among the peroxidase reactive cells, by the presence of typical granules and demarcation membranes. Since this peroxidase exhibited identical characteristics to that of normal megakaryocytic precursors, these blast cells could be identified as megakaryoblasts. These data emphasize the possible megakaryoblastic nature of cells occurring in other cases of CGL blast crisis.
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