Purification and NH2-terminal sequence of a plasmacytoma growth factor derived from the murine macrophage cell line P388D1.

Plasmacytoma growth factor (PCT-GF), a putative macrophage-derived lymphokine essential for the in vitro viability and proliferation of early generation plasmacytomas, was purified from conditioned medium of the murine macrophage cell line P388D1. The purification of PCT-GF was accomplished by a batch concentration on trimethylsilyl-controlled pore glass beads, followed by: gel filtration chromatography; hydrophobic interaction HPLC; and reverse-phase HPLC. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified PCT-GF revealed a single band of Mr 23,000. The amino terminal sequence of PCT-GF was established as NH2-Pro-Thr-Ser-Gln-Val-Arg-Arg-Gly-Asp-Phe-Thr-Glu-Asp-Thr-Thr-Pro-Asn- Arg-Pro-Val-Tyr-Thr. No significant homology was found between this sequence and proteins in the National Biomedical Research Foundation database, suggesting that PCT-GF is a new lymphokine unrelated to previously described growth and differentiation factors.