Liquid cultures of bone marrow cells enriched for megakaryocytes were assayed for incorporation of 3H-thymidine (3H-TdR) into acid-precipitable cell digests to determine the effect of thrombopoietin on DNA synthesis. As previously described, thrombopoietin was prepared by ammonium sulfate fractionation of pooled plasma obtained from thrombocytopenic rabbits. A control fraction was prepared from normal rabbit plasma. The thrombopoietic activity of these fractions was determined in vivo with normal rabbits as assay animals and the rate of incorporation of 75Se-selenomethionine into newly formed platelets as an index of thrombopoietic activity of the infused material. Guinea pig megakaryocytes were purified using bovine serum albumin gradients. Bone marrow cultures containing 1.5-3.0x104 cells and 31%-71% megakaryocytes were incubated 18 h in modified Dulbecco’s MEM containing 10% of the concentrated plasma fractions from either thrombocytopenic or normal rabbits. In other control cultures, 0.9% NaCl was substituted for the plasma fractions. 3H-TdR incorporation was measured after cells were incubated for 3 h with 1 μCi/ml. The protein fraction containing thrombopoietin-stimulating activity caused a 25%-31% increase in 3H-TdR incorporation over that in cultures which were incubated with the similar fraction from normal plasma and a 29% increase over the activity in control cultures to which 0.9% NaCl had been added. These data suggest that thrombopoietin stimulates DNA synthesis in megakaryocytes and that this tecnique may be useful in assaying thrombopoietin in vitro.
A chemical method for fast and sensitive detection of DNA synthesis in vivo
