The effect of lithium upon granulocyte production in vitro and in vivo in the mouse.

Abstract

Following the institution of lithium therapy in the management of manic states, observers noted that leukocytosis and neutrophilia frequently occurred (Risetto and Gassano, 1952; Mayfield and Brown, 1966; O’Connell, 1970; Murphy and Goodwin, 1971; Shopsin and Friedman, 1971). In 1973, Tisman et al. postulated that the neutrophilia was due to an increase in the total blood granulocyte pool and also demonstrated augmentation of granulocyte proliferation in vitro (Tisman et al., 1973). In 1975, it was demonstrated that lithium enhanced colony stimulating activity (CSA) production in mice (Harker et al., 1975), and humans (Joyce and Chervenick, 1975), suggesting that this CSA alteration had a mechanistic role in vivo. In the present study, we have examined the action of lithium upon murine granulocytopoiesis in vivo and in vitro in order to: 1) further define the action of lithium upon CSA production by lung, adherent peritoneal cells, and marrow; 2) to examine the direct effect of lithium upon the proliferation of colony forming cells (CFC) or their progeny; and 3) to test the hypothesis that lithium stimulation of CSA production is due to modulation of cellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels.KeywordsPeritoneal CellNephrogenic Diabetes InsipidusColony Form CellHoward Hughes Medical InstituteColony Stimulate ActivityThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.