title: Basophil production.
abstract: Factors influencing basophil production from the bone marrow of ovalbumin (OA)-sensitized guinea pigs have been examined in vitro. Autologous co-cultures of marrow and spleen cells from OA-immune animals contained significantly higher numbers of basophils after 7 d of liquid culture in the presence of OA, compared with control co-cultures or with marrow cultures alone (P < 0.005). Basophils increased in co-culture as the number of spleen cells added to a fixed number of marrow cells was increased from 0.10 to 2.5 x 10(6)/ml; at each spleen cell concentration, the presence of OA significantly enhanced basophil production in vitro when compared with unstimulated co-cultures. There was no basophil production from spleen cell suspensions cultured in the absence of autologous marrow cells. Conditioned media (CM) prepared from OA-stimulated spleen cells of OA-treated animals (CM-OA) caused a specific stimulation of basophil production from normal guinea pig bone marrow cells in liquid cultures (P < 0.01). Phytohemagglutinin (PHA)- and pokeweed mitogen-stimulated CM (CM-PHA, CM-pokeweed mitogen) nonspecifically enhanced normal basophilopoiesis, causing dose-dependent increases in basophils and histamine in vitro. CM-OA and CM-PHA also preferentially stimulated formation of neutrophil-macrophage colony-forming units in semisolid methylcellulose cultures.CM-PHA prepared from T cell-enriched splenic cell suspensions contained basophil-stimulating activity, whereas T cell-depleted CM-PHA activity did not exceed control values (P < 0.01). Preliminary characterization of CM-PHA revealed that basophil-stimulating activity was predominantly heat stable and nondialyzable. These results demonstrate OA-specific, as well as mitogen-dependent T-cell regulation of guinea pig basophilopoiesis in vitro. The data are compatible with the existence of a specific "basophilopoietin" in CM derived from guinea pig splenic T cells.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001491:Basophils / Q000166:cytology*; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D002450:Cell Communication; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D003470:Culture Media; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D006632:Histamine / Q000032:analysis; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008934:Mitogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D008934:Mitogens; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D006632:Histamine; D010047:Ovalbumin