Origin of the marrow cells in bones induced by implantation of osteosarcoma-derived bone-inducing factor in mice.

Bone marrow cells (10(7)) of beige mice were injected into 800-rad-irradiated normal (C57BL/6 - +/+ or -bgJ/+) mice. After establishment of chimerism, bone formation including bone marrow was induced by implantation of the bone-inducing substances extracted from the murine osteosarcoma. The origin of marrow cells was investigated by observing giant granules of beige (C57BL/6-bgJ/bgJ, Chediak-Higashi syndrome) mice, as a marker for the origin of the cells. The marrow cells in the induced bones were of the beige type. These results indicate that the induced bone marrow cells are not the progeny of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells in situ, but that of hemopoietic stem cells circulating in the peripheral blood.