Variations in granulocyte colony forming cell numbers in adult blood

Blood granulocyte colony forming units (CFU-C) were studied in normal adults to establish: (i) a normal range; (ii) variability due to the culture technique; (iii) variability of blood CFU-C within individuals. Thirty men studied had 98 (range 8--300) CFU-C X 10(3)/1, and 28 women studied had 44 (range 0--260) CFU-C X 10(3)/1. This difference was significant (P less than 0.001). There was also a significant sex difference in the total number of cells forming colonies and clusters per litre; and in the incidence of colony formers and of cluster formers in buffy coat and mononuclear cell blood fractions. CFU-C were assayed in four subjects over a 10 week period. When buffy coat cells were used as a source of colony stimulation the week to week variation in the combined growth of the four subjects was wide (+/- 36%) but with conditioned medium the variation was smaller (+/- 14%). In all subjects colony and cluster growth varied in the same way (r = 0.77, P = .001) but there was no correlation with the total leucocyte count. A 3--4 week cyclical change in CFU-C/1 was found which was independent of the variation inherent in the technique. The physiological significance of the sex difference and the apparent cyclical changes in blood CFU-C are not explained, but the results emphasize the wide fluctuations in CFU-C that may occur in normal individuals.