Effect of absolute and relative changes of hematocrit on erythropoiesis in mice

The serial changes of peripheral reticulocytes and marrow erythroid progenitor cells (CFU-e) in mice were monitored under the conditions of absolute or relative changes in red cell mass to study the regulatory mechanism of erythropoiesis. A decreased number of marrow CFU-e and peripheral reticulocytes was observed in the mice with relative polycythemia induced by dehydration as well as in the mice with absolute polycythemia induced by hypertransfusion. On the other hand, a transient increase in the number of marrow CFU-e followed by a gradual increase in the number of peripheral reticulocytes was seen after a considerable amount of exsanguination. Similar stimulatory effects on marrow CFU-e were also observed either by rehydrating the dehydrated mice or by overhydrating the untreated mice to relatively decrease the level of hematocrit. The results suggested that in addition to factors relating to the balance between oxygen supply and requirement, which has been well known, erythropoiesis is greatly affected by hematocrit.