Functional changes in marrow stromal cells in aplastic anaemia.

To determine whether or not abnormalities exist in the bone marrow stroma in aplastic anaemia, we analysed the ability of marrow stromal cells to support haemopoiesis using a long-term culture system. Marrow stromal cell layers from 3 of 9 patients with this disorder failed to maintain granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming cells in vitro. The stromal dysfunction was reversible in 1 patient who recovered after androgen therapy. The results of the present study add to the available evidence for a functional defect of marrow microenvironments in some cases of aplastic anaemia.