Blood, 1960, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp. 840-855.
© 1960 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Evaluation of Marrow Granulocytic Reserves
in Normal and Disease States
CHARLES G. CRADDOCK JR. 1,
SEYMOUR PERRY 1,
LUTZ E. VENTZKE 1,
JOHN S. LAWRENCE 1,
Mary H. Baker 1, and
Gloria Paul 1
1 Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California at
Los Angeles, and the Hematology Research Laboratory, Wadsworth Hospital, Veterans
Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
Recent concepts of the relationship of the blood granulocyte mass to the
marrow reserve of granulocytes have been reviewed. Evidence has been
presented to show that the marrow is the chief area of granulocyte "reserves"
or "stores." The development of acute leukocytosis in response to a stimulus
such as the intravenous injection of bacterial endotoxin depends upon release
of cells from the intramedullary pool of granulocytes.
The turnover of the marrow granulocyte reserve (MGR) is an orderly
process in the steady state, and determines the form of the curve of DNA-labeled granulocytes in the peripheral blood. From estimates of the turnover
time of the MGR it appears that the granulocyte spends an average time of
about 10 hours in the peripheral blood. Granulocytes do not appear to recirculate once they have left the peripheral blood and have entered the tissues.
However, granulocytes may be sequestered within capillary beds for variable
periods, and may re-enter the circulating blood from such areas. Such cells are
not to be considered as having re-entered the blood from the tissues.
The intravenous injection of a purified bacterial lipopolysaccharide as a
stimulus to acute leukocytosis is described. The possbile usefulness of this
procedure in assessing the MGR is discussed.
Submitted on July 28, 1958
Accepted on July 11, 1959
