Effect of erythropoietin on regeneration of hematopoietic stem cells after 5-fluorouracil administration.

Abstract

Abstract The accelerated recovery of erythropoiesis after large doses of erythropoietin in 5-FU treated mice was found to be due to a markedly accelerated regeneration of erythropoietin-sensitive stem cells (ESC). Erythropoietin had no effect upon regeneration of colony-forming units in 5-FU treated mice. It is concluded that erythropoietin either induced inflow of precursors into the ESC population or that it stimulated cell division of ESC. The lag between marrow injury and reappearance of proerythroblasts is attributed to a prescribed number of successive divisions each erythroid stem cell has to complete before its genome for differentiation can be fully expressed.