Glucocorticoids Suppress Formation of Erythroid Colonies Cultured from Human Fetal Liver and Umbilical Cord Blood

The effect of glucocorticoids on erythroid colony formation in vitro was studied in plasma clot and methylcellulose culture of human fetal liver and umbilical cord blood. At concentrations varying from 10-10 to 10-6M, dexamethasone and hydrocortisone caused 25 to 90% reduction in the number of erythroid colonies present after 5 to 14 days of incubation. This suppression of erythroid colony production by glucocorticoids was not accompanied by an alteration in the ratio of γ and β globin chains synthesized by the erythroid cells.