Net increase of pluripotential hematopoietic precursors in suspension culture in response to IL-1 and IL-3.

A new short-term suspension culture system is described in which pluripotential hematopoietic precursors from mouse bone marrow increase 8 to 12 times in number over a 4-day period. The increase is shown to derive from myeloid precursors undergoing repeated cell divisions prior to definitive lineage restriction. The response, which occurs in the absence of any pre-formed feeder layer, depends on dual stimulation by both IL-1 and IL-3, and the maximum effect depends on the presence of both factors together from the initiation of the cultures. The observations extend the known range of targets of IL-1 and IL-3 to include primitive pluripotential precursors capable of some degree of self-renewal, and provide a specific and relatively simple assay both for the precursors and the soluble factors which regulate them.