Growth of erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E) in cultures of canine bone marrow and peripheral blood cells: effect of serum from irradiated dogs.

Erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E) from canine bone marrow and peripheral blood could be grown in methylcellulose in the presence of an appropriate batch of fetal calf serum (FCS), transferrin, and erythropoietin (Epo). However, improved colony formation (size and number of bursts) was obtained when serum from total body irradiated dogs was present in the culture. This serum, obtained from dogs at day 9 after total body irradiation with a dose of 3.9 Gy, reduced markedly the Epo requirement of BFU-E. Furthermore, it allowed the omission of FCS from the culture medium if cholesterol and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were used as FCS substitutes. BFU-E concentrations were found to be rather different in the peripheral blood and in bone marrow samples from different sites (i.e., iliac crest, sternum, and humerus) of normal beagles. The studies further show that canine bone marrow BFU-E can be cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen.