A human prostatic growth factor (hPGF): partial purification and characterization.

A growth factor capable of stimulating DNA synthesis of BALB/3T3 cells was purified about 1,000-fold from the cytosol of human benign hypertrophic prostates by heparin-Sepharose chromatography; the growth factor bound to the column in the presence of 0.5 M NaCl was eluted with 1.5-1.7 M NaCl. Its molecular weight and isoelectric point were estimated to be 11,000-13,000 and 10.5, respectively. It was sensitive to heat- and acid-treatments but resistant to disulfide-reducing agent. The final preparation was able to stimulate DNA synthesis at 10 ng/ml. The degree of stimulation was dependent on serum concentration in the assay system; the degree of maximum stimulation increased about 5 times as serum concentration increased from 0.2 to 2%.