In vitro cloning of murine megakaryocyte progenitors (CFU-Meg)

Convenient and reproducible culture systems for murine megakaryocyte progenitor cells (colony-forming unit-megakaryocytes, CFU-Meg) are described. Mouse bone marrow cells are cultured in fibrin clots supplemented with Iscove's modified Dulbecco's medium and fetal bovine serum or in fibrin clots supplemented with serum-free IMDM, bovine serum albumin, transferrin, cholesterol, and L-α-phosphatidylcholine. In the presence of murine interleukin-3 or pokeweed mitogen-stimulated murine spleen cell-conditioned medium, these cultures support CFU-Meg colony formation effectively. The cultivation and counting of colonies in these culture systems is considerably easier when compared with previously reported culture systems.