Sixteen bone marrow aspirates from normal males, cultured in vitro at various concentrations, were compared with ten aspirates from normal females. Marrow from males produced a significantly higher colony count than females when plated at a standard concentration of 2.0 x 105 cells per dish. This difference in colony-forming ability was found to be cell-dose related when dose-response studies for each marrow were obtained at concentrations of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 x 105 cells per plate. To more fully characterize marrow proliferative capacity in vitro, two additional parameters of growth were defined: (1) the slope of the dose-response curve and (2) the extrapolated cell concentration at "zero" colony growth. These parameters were found to differ significantly between male and female marrows and suggest that the mechanism of steady-state regulation of resting marrow may differ in males and females.

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© 1974 by American Society of Hematology, Inc.
1974
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