In vitro assay for erythropoietin: erythroid colony formation in methyl
cellulose used for the measurement of erythropoietin in plasma
P Haga and B Falkanger
Erythroid colony formation in methyl cellulose has been used for the
measurement of erythropoietin in plasma. Livers from newborn mice less than
24 hr old were found to provide convenient target cells. Newborn mouse
liver contains a substantial number of erythroid colony-forming cells
(CFU-e) that have a high sensitivity to erythropoietin, the dose-- response
curve for erythropoietin reaching a plateau at 50 mU/ml. As little as 0.5
m/ml of the hormone is detectable. Removal of cells that adhered to glass
prior to culturing doubled the number of colonies formed in the presence of
erythropoietin. Addition of untreated plasmas that showed high
erythropoietin titers in the exhypoxic polycythemic mice assay gave
variable results. Some of the plasmas stimulated colony formation actively
and in a linear fashion. However, the majority of the plasmas were toxic to
the cultures. Dialyzing the plasmas for 3 days against distilled water
effectively removed the toxicity. Results obtained with the method are in
good agreement with the values found using the exhypoxic polycythemic mice
assay.
Volume 53,
Issue 6,
pp. 1172-1181,
06/01/1979
Copyright © 1979 by The American Society of Hematology
