Variations in Granulocyte Colony Forming Cell Numbers in Adult Blood

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Abstract
Blood granulocyte colony forming units (CFU-C) were studied in normal adults to establish a normal range, variability due to the culture technique and variability of blood CFU-C within individuals. Of the 30 men studied all had 98 (range 8-300) CFU-C .times. 103/l, and 28 women studied had 44 (range 0-260) CFU-C .times. 103/l. This difference was significant (P < 0.001). There was also a significant sex difference in the total number of cells forming colonies and clusters per liter and in the incidence of colony formers and cluster formers in buffy coat and mononuclear cell blood fractions. CFU-C were assayed in 4 subjects over 10 wk. When buffy coat cells were used as a source of colony stimulation the week to week variation in the combined growth of the 4 subjects was wide (.+-. 36%) but with conditioned medium with variation was smaller (.+-. 14%). In all subjects colony and cluster growth varied in the same way (r [correlation coefficient] = 0.77, P = 0.001) but there was no correlation with the total leukocyte count. A 3-4 wk cyclical change in CFU-C/l was found independent of the variation inherent in the technique. The physiological significance of the sex difference and the apparent cyclical changes in blood CFU-C were not explained, but the results emphasized the wide fluctuations in CFU-C that may occur in normal individuals.