J. Adam and M. Rosendaal, Department of Anatomy and Embryology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E6BT

Work in this laboratory is addressing the question of whether the utilisation of haemopoietic stem cells by the animal is random, or organised as a succession of clones. Our approach has been to study genetically marked precursor cells at various developmental stages from distinct haemopoietic sites.

We use the X-linked enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase (Pgk-1) with a and b alleles coupled to an in vitro assay for granulocyte-macrophage precursors. We assume that different growth factors act on colonyforming cells at different developmental stages.

We confirmed that such progenitors formed clones in culture and, by analysing the proportions of genetic markers of their colonies, studied whether progenitors at different developmental stages respond to different haemopoietic growth factors. If haemopoiesis is random there should be no significant difference in the proportions of genetically marked cells responding...

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