Hemin acts synergistically with interleukin-3 to promote the growth of multipotent stem cells (CFU-GEMM) in "serum-free" cultures of normal murine bone marrow.

The role of hemin (iron protoporphyrin 9) in the enhancement of interleukin-3 (IL-3)-stimulated multipotent stem cell colony formation was assessed in both serum-containing as well as in "serum-free" marrow culture systems. A greater than 7-fold enhancement in colony number was observed when cultures were supplemented with both IL-3 and hemin compared with either factor alone. In addition, this effect was observed over a wide concentration range. Hemin by itself failed to promote CFU-GEMM in the "serum-free" marrow culture system. The results suggest that hemin acts synergistically with IL-3 to promote the growth of CFU-GEMM in a dose-dependent manner.