Partial purification of the cholestatic factor derived from the lymphocytes of tuberculin-sensitized guinea pigs.

When lymph node lymphocytes from the tuberculin-sensitized guinea pigs were stimulated in vitro with PPD (purified protein derivatives) and the culture fluid was injected into the mesenteric vein of rats, a marked reduction of bile flow was observed. These culture supernatants contained cholestatic activity were fractionated by gel filtration using a Sephadex G-75 column followed by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. Both the cholestatic activity and the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) activity were detected predominantly in the fourth fraction of gel filtration. By further fractionation using a DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, the cholestatic activity was separated into two fractions; one of them was shown to have both cholestatic activity and MIF activity, but the other did not have any detectable MIF activity. These results suggest that the cholestatic factor may be different at least partially from the MIF.