The fractionation, characterization, and subcellular localization of colony-stimulating activities released by the human monocyte-like cell line, GCT.

GCT, a human monocyte-like cell line, has been shown to release biochemically distinct colony-stimulating activities (CSAs) for mouse and human marrows. These appear to be periodate-sensitive proteins with critical disulfide bonds. One, of molecular weight 145,000 daltons, stimulates macrophagic colony growth and is related to a 30,000-dalton molecule that also stimulates mouse growth. A 30,000-dalton CSA for human marrow can be separated from the 30,000-dalton mouse CSA by isoelectric focusing and gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This distinction agrees with our previous finding of differential neutralization with anti-human urinary CSF antibody. The 30,000-dalton CSAs stimulate neutrophil, neutrophil-monocyte, and eosinophil colony growth in human marrow but only neutrophil and neutrophil-monocyte colonies in the mouse. Subcellular fractionation of GCT cells indicates that there are pools of preformed CSAs primarily associated with the cell cytosol that have similar apparent molecular weights to their secreted counterparts.