The ability of marrow cells from uremic patients to form granulocyte-colonies in an agar gel system was studied using the method of Robinson et al. The seven patients (in 4 patients under hemodialysis) studied here were markedly uremic and anemic. In our system colonies appeared rapidly on culture plates after four days of incubation and grew as a colony of mononuclear cells which were definitely positive for peroxidase indicating granulocytes morphologically.
The number of colonies formed in cultures of patients with anemia of chronic renal failure was slightly decreased due to the decrease in marrow cellularity in uremia, but was not significant to that of normal subjects. Interestingly, the number of colonies formed per plate was directly propotional to the number of nucleated cells in marrows obtained from subjects. In addition, peripheral leukocytes obtained from uremic patients as a colony stimulating factor (CSF) in cultures stimulated colony forming cells (CFC) with normal activity to form colonies in vitro when compared to that of normal peripheral leukocytes. These findings suggest that the ability of marrow cells from uremic patients to form colonies in vitro might not be affected even in uremic condition, indicating that the number and function of CFC in uremia may be intact with normal granulopoiesis.

View full abstract