title: Interleukin-6 enhances murine megakaryocytopoiesis in serum-free culture.
abstract: We investigated the effect of interleukin-6 (IL-6) on murine megakaryocytopoiesis in a serum-free culture system. The addition of IL-6 to a culture containing interleukin-3 (IL-3) resulted in a significant increase in the number of megakaryocyte colonies by bone marrow cells of normal mice. The megakaryocytic progenitors that survive exposure to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) exhibited a more significant response to IL-6 and IL-3. Polyclonal anti-IL-6 antibody neutralized the stimulatory effect of IL-6 on megakaryocyte colony growth supported by IL-3. Delayed addition experiments and replating experiments of blast cell colonies showed that megakaryocytic progenitors are supported by IL-3 in the early stage of the development but require IL-6 for their subsequent proliferation and differentiation. In addition, IL-6 increased the size of megakaryocytes in granulocyte-macrophage-megakaryocyte colonies. The combination of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor or granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor with IL-3 resulted in an increase in the granulocyte-macrophage colony growth of bone marrow cells of 5-FU-treated mice or normal mice, respectively, but had little effect on the enhancement of pure and mixed megakaryocyte colony growth. These results suggest that IL-6 plays an important role in murine megakaryocytopoiesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakahata
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Naganuma
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akiyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000494:pharmacology; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007377:Interleukin-3 / Q000494:pharmacology; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008533:Megakaryocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D007377:Interleukin-3; D015850:Interleukin-6; D005472:Fluorouracil