Megakaryocytopoiesis in experimentally induced chronic normobaric hypoxia
Rolović, Z.; Basara, N.; Biljanović-Paunović, L.; Stojanović, N.; Suvajdzić, N.; Pavlović-Kentera, V.
Experimental Hematology 18(3): 190-194
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0301-472X PMID: 2303112 Document Number: 360847
It was recently proposed that prolonged hypoxia produces hypomegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia by reducing the pool of committed megakaryocyte progenitor cells at the expense of a greatly expanded erythroid preogenitor pool. In order to test this hypothesis we have studied the relationship between megakaryocytopoiesis, erythropoiesis, and granulopoiesis at the level of progenitor cells (megakaryocyte colony-forming units, CFU-Mk; erythroid CFU, CFU-E; erythroid burst-forming units; BFU-E; and granulocyte-macrophage CFU, CFU-GM) in the marrow of rats exposed for 4 weeks to normobaric hypoxia. We have found that hypomegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia was accompanied by decreased CFU-Mk, increased CFU-E, and a normal number of BFU-E and CFU-GM. These results support the hypothesis that prolonged hypoxia reduces the precursor cell commitment to differentiate into the megakaryocyte series by enhancing demand for differentiation into the erythroid cell line. However, the underlying mechanism needs further investigation.