Age-related differences in the effect of in vivo administration of indomethacin on hemopoietic cell lineages of the spleen and bone marrow of mice.

During 21 days of indomethacin treatment, erythroid cells in the spleens of both young adult and older mice, and in the bone marrow of young adult mice, were increased significantly early in treatment, relative to age-matched control organs, and remained high throughout treatment. During drug exposure, the numbers of myeloid cells in young adult bone marrow, but not spleen, were reduced, but in older mice these cells were elevated in both organs. Lymphoid cells in the young adult and older mouse spleens decreased and increased, respectively, during treatment, but were unchanged and decreased, respectively, in the bone marrow of young adult and older mice. Monocyte-macrophage cells in the spleen were elevated but unchanged in the bone marrow of both age groups. During 14 days of indomethacin treatment of young adult mice, the proportions of precursor cells in DNA synthesis of only the splenic erythroid lineage were increased. Thus, the major hemopoietic lineages in both the bone marrow and spleen are affected by exposure to indomethacin in a time-dependent and age-dependent manner. For all lineages studied, those of the bone marrow were least disturbed and/or were first to recover, even during continued drug exposure.