DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF IN-VITRO MODELS OF HEMATOPOIESIS TO DRUG DEVELOPMENT

In vitro models of hematopoiesis are used increasingly in investigativ e hematopathology. Such models complement in vivo animal testing and h ave been shown to be predictive for hematotoxicity associated with ant icancer and antiviral agents in humans. In vitro models of hematopoies is consist of short-term cloning assays for various hematopoietic prog enitor cells and long-term functional assays for the marrow hematopoie tic microenvironment. In our laboratories, the cloning assays have bee n used as investigative tools to study the pathogenetic mechanisms of drug-induced blood disorders and as screening systems to investigate t he possible hematotoxic potential of candidate drugs in various animal species. Data in support of these applications are presented in this paper.