Tumor-promoting phorbol esters stimulate hematopoietic colony formation in vitro

Abstract

Tumor-promoting phorbol esters stimulated mouse bone marrow cells to form myeloid colonies in agar cultures without added colony-stimulating factors. The colony-stimulating ability of various phorbol esters correlated well with their ability to promote skin tumors in vivo. These results suggest that phorbol esters mimic the action of specific colony-stimulating factors that regulate growth. Copyright © 1980 AAAS.