Haemoglobin Synthesis in Human Fetal Liver Maintained in Short‐Term Tissue Culture

Abstract

Human fetal liver maintained in tissue culture has been examined as a model system for studying the factors involved in the switch from fetal to adult haemoglobin production. In erythropoietin-treated cultures alpha-, beta- and gamma-chain synthesis remains active for up to 12 days. Globin-chain synthesis is balanced and the alpha/beta + gamma-chain production ratio remains constant up to about 8 days; in longer cultures gamma-chain production declines before that of beta chains. It is concluded that the system may be useful for examining factors involved in the switch from gamma- to beta-chain production provided that these are acting on cells already committed to the erythroid compartment.

Effects of Testosterone and Estradiol on Ratios of Adult to Fetal Hemoglobin in Cell Cultures of Human Fetal Liver

“…The amounts of radioactivity are in the same order as indicated in figure 2. and sheep fetal reticulocytes (12,13). The 0/7 ratios correspond very well with previously published results (18) and are shown in table III. The increase of S9Fe-incorporation into HbA after testosterone treatment did not correspond to a higher ratio of 0/7 synthesis.…”

“…The ratio was 1.18 ± 0.03 (n = 14, ± SEM). Although this may be due to a small contamination of 7 -chains with nonglobulin proteins (18) unusually high y/a ratios have been reported in human The cells were incubated with the hormones for 6 h followed by an 18-hour pulse with radioactive leucine (JH for the controls and l4C for hormone treated cells, and vice versa in every second experi ment). The hemoglobins were extracted, the globin chains precipitated with acetone and separated on carboxymethyl cellulose.…”

Effect of Hypoxia on Erythroblasts from Avian Fetal Liver: Adenosine Triphosphate Levels and Hemoglobin Synthesis

“…This suggests the possibility that differentiation in the fetal system may not be entirely erythropoietin dependent (37) and that nonerythropoietin stimulators and repressors of erythropoiesis may exist.…”

“…The differentiation of the definitive cell is for the most part responsive to erythropoietin, whereas primitive cells probably do not respond to erythropoietin (35,37). Since avian fetal livers may contain both primitive and definitive erythroblasts, the present studies were undertaken to establish an in vitro model for the maintenance of fetal erythroblasts and to examine the effects of hypoxia on hemoglobin synthesis in such cells.…”

Erythroid colony formation from human fetal liver.

“…Basch (4) and Shchory and Weatherall (5) have reported that, in cultures of liver from fetuses delivered by hysterotomy, hemoglobin synthesis markedly declined or ceased after [7][8] days.…”