Some effects of chemotherapeutic drugs on bone marrow stem cells. II. Effect on non-Hodgkin lymphoma chemotherapy on various hemopoietic compartments of the mouse.

The non-Hodgkin lymphoma chemotherapy protocol used at the Gustave-Roussy Institute was adapted, in terms of drug doses and interval between doses, to normal CBA mice. The numbers of pluripotential stem cells (CFU-S), unipotential stem cells (CFC), differentiated bone marrow cells, and circulating white cells were determined. Eight hours after each drug of the first chemotherapy cycle the number of pluripotent stem cells decreased while the proportion of these cells in DNA synthesis increased. Six hours after the end of each complete cycle, the stem cell compartments were found to be considerably depleted, and they were not completely restored when the next cycle was begun, while the other hematologic compartments were completely restored at this time.