Differential expression of biological effects in maturationally distinct subpopulations of growth plate chondrocytes.

Countercurrent centrifugal elutriation is an accurate and reproducible technique which can separate cells on the basis of size. This technique was utilized for the separation of isolated chick growth plate chondrocytes. Mean cellular volume, alkaline phosphatase activity, and Type X collagen synthesis progressively increased in each of seven successive separated fractions. The chondrocytes from the different fractions expressed a differential response to the growth regulator, transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta). TGF beta receptor binding to these cell fractions suggests that the different biological effects may be due to differences in the number of receptors expressed per cell as well as to differences in the proportion of high and low affinity TGF beta receptors present.