Megakaryocytopoiesis in the Rat with Transfusion-Induced Thrombocytosis.

The effect of transfusion-induced thrombocytosis on megakaryocytopoiesis in the rat was evaluated from (1) labeling of megakaryocytes after a single dose of 3HTdR and (2) differential count of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow. Neither parameter was significantly altered by acute or sustained thrombocytosis. It was concluded that thrombocytosis affected neither rate of maturation of recognizable megakaryocytes nor influx of cells into the megakaryocyte compartment from a precursor compartment. These findings do not exclude the possibility that the number of platelets produced by each megakaryocyte could be altered by hyper-transfusion.