Effects of Lithium Chloride on Human and Murine Marrow Myeloid Colony Formation and Colony Stimulating Activity

Abstract

Prior studies have indicated that oral administration of lithium salts causes neutrophilia due to increased granulopoiesis in normal individuals and in some patients with hematologic disorders (Gupta et al., 1976; Malloy et al., 1978; Rothstein et al., 1978). Controversy exists regarding the mechanism whereby lithium exerts this granulopoietic effect. Studies in mice have demonstrated that production of colony stimulating activity (CSA) by extramedullary cell sources (e.g. lung) is enhanced following in vitro exposure to lithium (Harker et al., 1977). Studies with human cells have reported both increased CSA production by peripheral blood leukocytes (Joyce and Chervenick, 1975) and an adjuvant effect on granulopoietic precursor cells (in vitro colony forming cells, CFU-C) (Morley and Galbraith, 1978). Increased urinary and serum CSA levels occur following in vivo administration of lithium (Gupta et al., 1976); however, these sources of CSA are stimulatory for murine but not human marrow CFU-C in vitro.