Long-term human bone marrow cultures.
Pronlonged in vitro growth of murine bone marrow has been achieved using a flask culture system. We report the adaption of the technique to the growth of human bone marrow. In this system, CFU-GM and CFU-E are maintained for 4-9 wk. Morphologically recognizable granulopoiesis occurs for 4-6 wk and erythropoiesis for 1.5-2.5 wk. Functional T lymphocytes are maintained for at least 5 wk. The adherent population is composed of macrophages, fibroblast-like cells, and flat pavement-like cells. Fat-containing cells are not prominant. This culture system provides a means to study human hematopoietic cell proliferation and differentiation in vitro, as well as to examine interactions between stromal cells and hematopoietic and lymphoid progenitors.
D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002455:Cell Division; D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013997:Time Factors