Blood, 1959, Vol. 14, No. 11, pp. 1194-1212.
© 1959 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Review of Methods for Studying Maturation of Human
Erythroblasts in Vitro: Evaluation of a New Method of
Culture of Cell Suspensions in a Clot-Free Medium
LAWRENCE BERMAN 1,
EDWARD R. POWSNER 1,
Mary L. Davis 1, and
Marie Fly 1
1 Departments of Pathology, Wayne State University College of Medicine and
Detroit Receiving Hospital, and Veterans Administration Hospital, Dearborn, Mich.
Characteristics of various tissue and cell culture methods for studying
maturation of human erythroblasts were reviewed and the basic assumptions required in their use were examined.
The relationship of maturation and proliferation of erythroblasts in different types of cultures was considered.
Criteria for selection of an in vitro model for studying maturation were
established. A new clot-free culture system in roller tubes was found to
be superior to those previously described because of convenience, replicability
and adaptability to studies of proliferation.
The results of challenging the new culture system with various types
of cell-plasma relationships indicated that it was effective in distinguishing
among erythroblasts and plasmas of iron deficiency anemia, thalassemia,
azotemia and erythrocytosis, and that the deductions arrived at were similar
to those derived from the use of less convenient in vitro systems in which
different parameters of maturation were used.
Experience with the new method suggests that it may be useful in the
study of humoral factors affecting maturation of human erythroblasts.
The chief limitation of the proposed method, as for other in vitro methods,
is that only direct effects of humoral agents on erythroblasts can be studied.
Submitted on December 17, 1958
Accepted on February 21, 1959
