Monoclonal anti-Thy-1.2 antibody induced hematopoiesis in vivo.

The intravenous injection of a monoclonal anti-Thy-1.2 alloantibody (IgM class) induced a rapid increase in the number, and the ratio, of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells (CFU-S) in S-phase. The onset of hematopoiesis was thymus-independent. Reconstitution of lethally-irradiated mice with bone marrow cells from mice injected with antibody augmented the T-cell responsiveness to mitogens. No activation was observed in granulocyte/macrophage progenitors. The monoclonal antibody did not directly stimulate CFU-S in vitro, although hematopoietic activity could be found in the sera of antibody-injected mice. Immediately after injection, the antibody was found bound on Thy-1+ cells in spleen. No decrease in the number of peripheral T cells was seen. These results seem to indicate that Thy-1.2-positive cells bound with anti-Thy-1.2 alloantibody may secrete a factor which induces the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells.