ABSTRACT
Objective@#To understand the effect of sirolimus on the erythropoiesis of K562 cell line and bone marrow cells from pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) patients and normal controls.@*Methods@#Different concentrations (10, 100, 1 000 nmol/L) of sirolimus were added to the K562 cell line or bone marrow cells from PRCA patients or normal controls and cultured 14 days for BFU-E formation. Meanwhile, sirolimus was also added to the serum treated PRCA bone marrow cells to cultivate for the same priod of time.@*Results@#Neither K562 cells, bone marrow cells from PRCA patients or normal controls showed any difference when sirolimus was added to the culture system for BFU-E. However, BFU-E formation decreased after serum was added in PRCA patients (76.40±22.48 vs 136.33±12.58, t=-4.329, P=0.001) and this suppression of BFU-E was partly corrected by 1 000 nmol/L sirolimus treatment (97.14±15.83 vs 76.40±22.48, P=0.038).@*Conclusions@#Sirolimus may modulate the suppression of erythropoiesis by serum instead of directly stimulate the growth of red blood cells in PRCA patients.