Isolation and characterization of the erythroid progenitor cell: CFU-E.

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Abstract
Erythroid progenitor cells, CFU-E (colony-forming unit-erythroid), were isolated to practical homogeneity by a combination of 3 enrichment procedures. CFU-E were generated in large amounts in spleens of mice previously bled and treated with the erythopoeiesis-suppressing drug, thiamphenicol. The average CFU-E concentration in spleens from mice 4 days after the thiamphenicol treatment was 10%. These CFU-E were separated from lymphocytes, erythrocytes and granulocytes and their progenitor cells by centrifugal elutriation and Percoll density grandient centrifugation. A 3- to 5-fold enrichment was obtained by elutriation, leading to a CFU-E concentration of 45%. With the Percoll gradient, another 2-fold enrichment was achieved, providing a 80-100% CFU-E cell population. The overall recovery of CFU-E was 60-70%. This is a cheap, rapid and highly efficient method of obtaining large quantities of viable CFU-E. The sequential formation of 2-4 and 8-cell colonies from CFU-E cultured in vitro was studied. These cells enable the study of the biochemical changes occurring in the differentiation process of an erythroid progenitor cell induced by the hormone erythropoietin. The morphological and some physical and biological properties of these cells are presented.