Studies on in vitro colony formation by mouse bone marrow cells using different inflammatory pleural exudates. Relation to colony stimulating factor (CSF).

An inflammatory exudate obtained in Swiss mice 3 hours after intrapleural injection of dextran was able to increase the number of cultivated peritoneal macrophages in S phase. This exudate was also able to stimulate the formation of colonies from mice bone marrow progenitors of macrophages and granulocytes in methylcellulose culture. The stimulating activity of this acute inflammatory exudate was compared with that of colony stimulating factor (GM.CSF). The qualitative and quantitative results showed that the biological activity of the mitogenic factor of this inflammatory exudate, inflammatory mitogenic factor (IMF) was very close to GM.CSF at optimal concentration, but when used at the same concentration, the exudate was less active than GM.CSF. A stimulating activity was also found with another inflammatory pleural exudate induced by calcium pyrophosphate. The comparative kinetics of the action of the two exudates on CFUc appeared alike but the rise was earlier with calcium pyrophosphate. These results suggest the release of a growth factor for monocyte-macrophage in different acute inflammatory exudates.