Generation of a Primitive Erythroid Cell Line and Promotion of Its
Growth by Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor
David Yuen,
Leena Mittal,
Chu-Xia Deng, and
Kyunghee Choi
From the Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cell Biology Program,
University of Maryland at Baltimore, Baltimore, MD; and the Laboratory
of Biochemistry and Metabolism, National Institute of Digestive and
Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
An immortalized cell line representing the primitive erythroid
(EryP) lineage was established from in vitro-differentiated progeny
(embryoid bodies [EBs]) of embryonic stem (ES) cells using a
retroviral insertional mutation, and has been termed EB-PE for embryoid
body-derived primitive erythroid. Even though EB-PE cells are
immortalized, they show characteristics of normal EryP cells, such as
gene expression and growth factor dependency. In addition, EB-PE cells
can differentiate further in culture. Investigation of growth factor
requirements of EB-PE cells showed that basic fibroblast growth factor
(bFGF) and erythropoietin (Epo) play unique roles in EB-PE
proliferation and differentiation. While bFGF was a strong mitogen, Epo
was required for both proliferation and differentiation. The unique
proliferative response to bFGF coincided with upregulation of its
receptor, fibroblast growth factor receptor (fgfr-1), and
downregulation of erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) gene expression.
Studies of primary EryP cells derived from early EBs, when tested in a
colony-formation assay, also provided evidence for the mitogenic role
of bFGF in concert with Epo.
Blood, Vol. 91 No. 9 (May 1), 1998:
pp. 3202-3209
© 1998 by The American Society of Hematology.
