Long-term tissue culture of human bone marrow. I. Report of isolation of a strain of cells resembling epithelial cells from bone marrow of a patient with carcinoma of the lung.

T ISSUE CULTURE of humani 1)onme niarrow has been o’omicen’mied niaimmly with the growth, maturationi and behavior of the spe(’ific n)yeloid and erythroid elememits, with only occasional references to the activity of the other cells.6 (.)sgood’s numerous contributions have dealt w’ith marrow cells suspensded in a fluid niediuni7; Fieschi amid Astaldi have used plasn a (‘lot (‘ultlmres with ammd vithout an overlayer of nutrient fluid3; and Plum has made use of ams elai)orate perfusion apparatus.9 The particular imiterests of these imivestigatom’s were studies of the specific parenchymal or hemic cells. On the other hammd, Pomen’at amid his co-workers have used a plasma clot method on coverslips in roller tubes constaming fluid medium for making observations of the total behavior of explants of human bomme marrow, giving attention to the orgammizatiomm of the stronmial tissue and capillaries as well as hemic cells in the outgrowths.’#{176} The types of materials selected by different investigators were determined 1)y their aims amid, to some extent, their aims were limited by the types of material at hamal. For example, actual fragments of marrow tissue were used by some, whereas others cultured only the cells suspended in the fluid part of aspirated bomme marm’ow, the bulk of the tissue fragments having been allo ved to separate out of the specimems by sedimemmtat ion or cent rifugat iou At Detroit Ileceivimig Hospital the fragments of oi’gamsized n arn’ow tissine are separated from the disorgammized suspension of free cells in the fluid pon’tion of aspirated marrow. Both types of material are examimmed amid tissue culture procedures have beeni adjust.ed to accommodate each (figs. I and 2). Fon’ short-term studies of such matters as leukocyte and erythrohlast survival, niitosis and maturatiomm, the plasma clot methods developed i)y Fieschi amid Astaldi3 anol fluid suspetmsion methods based omi Osgood’s ideas7 are quite adequate. However, they are miot. as well adapted to the study of long-term o’ultures for the purpose of imivestigatimmg the reactions of the stromal elements* whose behavior is also of