Blood, 1959, Vol. 14, No. 6, pp. 644-653.
© 1959 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Studies on Erythropoiesis. XII. The Effect of Transfusion-Induced Polycythemia in the Mother on the Fetus
LEON O. JACOBSON 1,
EDNA K. MARKS 1, and
EVELYN O. GASTON 1
1 Argonne Cancer Research Hospital, operated by The University of Chicago
for the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, and the Department of Medicine, The University
of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
Erythropoiesis is reduced to zero in the mouse by repeated homologous
red cell transfusion.
Mating of transfusion-induced polycythemic mice was allowed, and observations were made on maternal and fetal erythropoiesis. It was observed
that erythropoiesis in the pregnant, polycythemic mouse was suppressed
throughout pregnancy, this observation suggesting that erythropoietin production was concomitantly suppressed.
Erythropoiesis in the fetuses of polycythemic mothers was initiated by 10
days and maintained in an active state throughout fetal life. Hematologic
values of these fetuses at birth were higher than those of the newborn normal
pregnant mice of the same strain.
It is possible that the fetus initiates and maintains erythropoietin independently of erythropoietin from the maternal circulation. The higher hematologic values of the newborn of polycythemic mothers are probably the result
of the greater availability of iron from the breakdown of transfused cells,
since it was found that comparable hematologic values were achieved in the
newborn when iron-dextran (Imferon) was injected into the maternal
tissues during pregnancy.
Submitted on August 11, 1958
Accepted on November 27, 1958
