Tumor promoters enhance myeloid and erythroid colony formation by normal mouse hemopoietic cells.

The diterpene tumor promoters enhance the proliferation in culture of myeloid and erythroid precursor cells from normal mouse hemopoietic tissues. The effect is observed only with those diterpenes that are tumor promoters, including 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA); diterpenes that are inactive as tumor promoters are ineffective as stimulators of colony formation. Tumor promoters act synergistically with suboptimal concentrations of conditioned medium used as a source of colony-stimulating factor (CSF) to increase both the number and size of myeloid colonies. Formation of myeloid colonies is stimulated by tumor promoters even without addition of CSF. Both pure and mixed granulocyte/macrophage colonies develop; high concentrations (> 100 micrograms/ml) of TPA are more favorable for macrophage colony formation. In erythropoietin-stimulated cultures, tumor promoters enhance the development of relatively early and intermediate of erythroid precursors, whereas later erythroid precursors are unaffected.