ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF RECOMBINANT HUMAN ERYTHROPOIETIN (EPO) ON MURINE BONE MARROW POPULATIONS USING MIXTURE MODELING TECHNIQUES

摘要

By applying mathematical analysis to flow cytometry data, we revealed that, as expected, treatment with EPO increased the fraction of erythroid precursors in murine bone marrow, However, we also found the fraction of apoptotic and dead late stage erythroid precursors increased. Furthermore, we also demonstrated that EPO increased the ratio of dead polyploid to dead diploid erythroid cells, providing evidence that EPO increased the probability that dividing erythroid precursors will enter apoptosis, a finding not evident by expert human analysis. These results indicate that mathematical analysis can be a powerful approach for analyzing flow cytometry data and understanding complex biological systems.