Expression of assayable residual stem cell damage in erythroid differentiation

In rodents, residual damage is inducible in hematopoietic stem cells by exposure to ionizing radiation or alkylating agents. This damage can be assayed in mice by transferring bone marrow into lethally irradiated syngeneic recipients and subsequently measuring the incremental increase of 5-(125I)iodo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation in spleens. In this study, bone marrow from mice treated 3 weeks previously with Methylnitrosourea (50 mg/kg) or 450 rad was injected into recipients in order to determine possible residual effects of treatment on erythroid cell differentiation following stem cell seeding. Such effects were detected by a reduced amount of 59Fe incorporation into spleens, thus indicating transfer of residual stem cell damage to differentiating cells.