Assaying the granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) as a mitogen of immature cells in fetal blood cultures

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Based on the presence of immature cells in fetal blood, and in an attempt to shorten the cytogenetic reporting time, three simultaneous one-day culture regimes were established in 23 fetal blood samples: (a) the standard phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated lymphocytes culture, (b) a culture using the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) as an alternative mitogen, and (c) an unstimulated culture. Diagnostic success rates achieved by these three methods were as follows: 43 per cent (95 per cent CI: 23–64) (GM-CSF), 30 per cent (95 per cent CI: 12–49) (PHA) and 9 per cent (unstimulated). These three regimes were also assayed in three-day cultures giving 100 per cent diagnostic success rate for the PHA and GM-CSF, and 62 per cent (95 per cent CI: 41–83) for the unstimulated. A moderate correlation was found between the initial concentration of cultured erythroblasts and the metaphase count in one-day GM-CSF-stimulated (r=0·43, p=0·01) and unstimulated (r=0·35, p=0·05) cultures, suggesting that erythroblasts may be in part responsible for the mitotic index observed in these two regime cultures. In conclusion, our experience suggests that immature cells in fetal blood may be successfully cultured for diagnostic purposes. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.