title: Short term benzene exposure provides a growth advantage for granulopoietic progenitor cells over erythroid progenitor cells.
abstract: Because chronic benzene exposure is associated with acute myeloblastic leukemia and other myeloproliferative disorders, we sought to determine whether short-term benzene exposure provides a growth advantage for granulopoietic elements over erythropoietic elements. Groups of male DBA/2J mice were exposed to 0, 10, 30, or 100 ppm benzene (6 h/day for 5 days). One day and 5 days after the benzene exposures, the numbers of the two most primitive erythroid progenitor cells (BFU-E and CFU-E) and the numbers of the most primitive granulocytic progenitor cells (GM-CFU-C) were assessed. Additional groups of mice were given hemolytic doses of phenylhydrazine (PHZ) during the 5 days of benzene exposure, while other groups of mice were given PHZ during the 5 days of recovery from benzene exposure. These experiments were designed to determine the effects of benzene exposure on progenitor cell numbers during periods of markedly heightened erythropoiesis. The results demonstrate that short-term benzene exposure does induce a growth advantage for granulocytic cells in both the bone marrow and spleen of exposed mice. Moreover, a benzene-induced shift toward granulopoiesis is observed even in those mice treated with a powerful erythropoietic stimulus. These effects disappear 5 days after cessation of benzene exposure in the bone marrow but persist in the spleen of mice treated with phenylhydrazine.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dempster
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Snyder
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001554:Benzene / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D002452:Cell Count / Q000187:drug effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D015672:Erythroid Precursor Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010659:Phenylhydrazines / Q000494:pharmacology; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010659:Phenylhydrazines; C030299:phenylhydrazine; D001554:Benzene