Relationship between fibroblastoid colony-forming units (CFU-f) and hemopoietic precursor cells in normal human bone marrow.

To clarify the relationship between fibroblastoid colony-forming units (CFU-f) and hemopoietic precursor cells, simultaneous assays of CFU-f, CFU-e, BFU-e, and CFU-c from the bone marrow of 10 healthy volunteers were performed. The number of CFU-f correlated positively with CFU-e (r = 0.905, P less than 0.001) and BFU-e (r = 0.842, P less than 0.005), but not with CFU-c (r = 0.530, P greater than 0.1). These findings support the hypothesis that CFU-f is related to erythropoiesis in the steady state of hemopoietic tissue. Further studies of the relationship between CFU-f and erythroid precursor cells in patients with hematological diseases may help clarify their pathophysiology.