[Burst promoting activity of lymphocytes from uremic patients].

PHA-leukocytes conditioned medium (PHA-LCM) prepared from the patients with chronic renal failure and normal control was tested for BPA by progenitor cell assay with methylcellulose culture method. The BPA of uremic patients, expressed as a percentage of standard CM, was significantly lower than that of normal subjects (96 +/- 9%). However, there was no correlation between BPA and the severity of anemia. The number of circulating BFU-E per milliliter of blood was significantly lower in uremic patients (71 +/- 77) than in normal controls (131 +/- 96), and the number correlated with the severity of anemia. From these results, the maturation process of erythroid series in uremic patients appeared to be impaired at a stage between pluripotent stem cell and BFU-E, and might be secondary to inefficient production of BPA by lymphocytes.