Haematopoiesis in Busulphan‐Treated Mice: A Comparison between Two Different Stem Cell Assays

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Abstract
The effect of busulphan on haematopoiesis was investigated in mice. Bone marrow and blood cells were sampled 2 h to 55 d after a single treatment with busulphan. The effect on progenitor cells was examined with the diffusion chamber (DC) technique and the spleen colony assay.Busulphan had a severe depressive effect on progenitor cells in bone marrow, and their number was reduced to 0.01–0.1 % of the control value on day 5–6. During the first 2 d the CFUs were reduced more than granulocyte progenitors as determined in the DC system. Histological examination of spleen colonies showed that in the same interval erythroid colony number was more depressed than granuloid colony number. This situation reversed after 4–6 d.Our interpretation is that busulphan affects all types of progenitor cells irrespective of their proliferative state. However, multipotent CFUs in Go‐phase are more depressed than granulocyte progenitor cells (DC), which have a higher proliferative rate. The selective effect on erythroid colonies during the initial period might indicate that busulphan impairs the ability of multipotent CFUs to erythroid differentiation. This damage was repaired within a few days.An abortive regeneration of bone marrow cells was observed on day 7–10. This can best be explained by an inflow from a cell pool intermediate between stem cells and early precursor cells, with some degree of ‘stem‐cellness' (self‐sustaining capacity).