Abstract
Two populations of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in mouse bone marrow (BM) are defined on the basis of the presence or absence of interleukin- 3 (IL-3) receptor-associated antigen (IL-3RAA). HSC were purified by depletion of mature lymphoid-lineage cells followed by collection of the low-density fraction and sorting of wheat germ agglutinin-binding (WGA+) cells using a fluorescein-activated cell sorter. WGA+ cells were further separated into two populations (IL-3RAA+/WGA+ and IL-3RAA- /WGA+) by a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) against IL-3RAA. IL-3RAA+/WGA+ cells formed CFU-S on day 8; this population consisted mainly of cells in the cycling phase. IL-3RAA-/WGA+ cells form CFU-S on day 12; this population consisted mainly of dormant cells (cells in the G0 phase). When two populations obtained from C3H/HeN mice were injected into lethally irradiated (C57BL/6 x C3H/HeN)F1 mice, donor-derived cells in the peripheral blood (PB) appeared significantly earlier in mice injected with IL-3RAA+/WGA+ cells than in those injected with IL-3RAA- /WGA+ cells, whereas the reconstruction efficiency of IL-3RAA-/WGA+ cells had overtaken that of IL-3RAA+/WGA+ cells 6 weeks after injection. Long-term observation showed no significant difference between these two populations, however. The radioprotective ability (RPA) (30-day survival) of these two populations was therefore compared. The RPA of IL-3RAA-/WGA+ cells was significantly higher than that of IL-3RAA+/WGA+ cells. These findings therefore suggest that the former population is more primitive.
