Hematopoiesis on cellulose ester membranes (CEM). IV. Effect of variation in membrane composition and pore size

Artificial membranes composed of mixed cellulose nitrate and acetate esters (MCEM), polytetrafluoroethylene (Mitex), cellulose acetate (Celotate), polyvinylchloride (Polyvic), polycarbonate (Nuclepore), or linear polyethylene with pore sizes ranging from 0.45 mu to 70 mu were coated on their inner surfaces with a paste of bone marrow, diaphyseal bone, or cells proliferating in vitro on the inner surfaces of curetted femurs obtained from syngeneic mice. Squares of these membranes were folded into thirds, stapled to form an open-ended, tube-like structure, and implanted i.p. into mice. At intervals of 6-12 months, the membranes were removed and studied histologically. Control membranes not coated with any substance were also studied. Trilineal hematopoiesis, bone formation, sinusoidal structures, fat cells, and hemosiderin-laden macrophages were found with all three coatings in the tubes formed from the MCEM or Mitex membranes. The Celotate and Polyvic membranes coated with bone cells and the Polyvic membranes coated with marrow also developed trilineal hematopoiesis and new bone tissue. The remaining membranes essentially had only fibrous tissue, except for rare foci of hematopoiesis which developed on an occasional 30 mu (but not 70 mu) pore size linear polyethylene membrane. The results of these studies suggest that hematopoiesis and bone cell formation on these artificial membranes is closely linked, and that there may be some interaction between membrane constituents and the cells destined to form the hematopoietic support layer in the fostering of hematopoiesis. Whether this interaction is stimulatory or inhibitory was not defined by these studies.