Erythropoiesis in the aged mouse: II. Response to stimulation in vitro

In this study, we present in vitro evidence that erythropoietic precursors in aged mice respond less to stimulation by erythropoietin than do precursors in young mice. The effect of age on proliferation of differentiated erythroid cells from the marrow of young and old mice was examined in liquid culture to which increasing concentrations of erythropoietin were added. Cellular proliferation was measured indirectly by 59Fe incorporation into heme and directly as tritiated thymidine incorporation into DNA. The number of normoblasts remaining in culture with and without the addition of erythropoietin was also measured. In each case, cellular proliferation was significantly lower in marrow in old than in young mice. In contrast, CFU-E colonies cultured with increasing doses of erythropoietin were similar in young and old animals. These findings indicate that aging causes a reduction in the proliferative response of differentiated erythroid cells. Failure of these cells to respond to stimulation is the likely mechanism for the reduced erythropoietic proliferative capacity found in aged animals.