Treatment with antitheta serum affects hemopoietic stem cell HSC proliferation in an in vivo culture system.

Marrow cells from normal WBB6F1 +/+ mice were treated in vitro with either anti-Thy 1.2 serum and complement (C') or normal mouse serum (NMS) and C' and then they were cultured in diffusion chambers implanted into peritoneal cavity of Balb/c mice. Following 1-19 days of culture, chamber contents were injected into W/Wv mice to test for either the capacity to form spleen colonies or to cure the W/Wv anemia. In contrast to NMS-treated marrow, anti-Thy 1.2 serum treated marrow hemopoietic stem cells almost completely failed to proliferate in this system. Number of cells per chamber upon termination of culture was less affected.