Survival of transfused cryopreserved granulocytic progenitor cells (CFU-C) in recipient circulation.

We have studied the pattern of CFU-C disappearance from the peripheral blood of normal and total-body-irradiated dogs given cryopreserved cell suspensions from bone marrow, foetal liver and peripheal blood containing known numbers of CFU-C under an autologous and allogeneic donor-recipient relationship. Only a small fraction of infused donor CFU-C could be detected in the circulation of recipients at the end of the infusion. There was an exponential fall in circulating CFU-C, indicating random loss of infused CFU-C. The CFU-C disappearance pattern in each experimental group was reproducible. The mean half life of autologous blood derived CFU-C in the circulating blood of normal recipients was 8.2 min and the mean blood CFU-C turnover was calculated to be 9.3 X 10(5) CFU-C/kg per day.