Effects of bovine platelet-poor plasma on the proliferation of normal and transformed BALB/c 3T3 cells.

Platelet-poor plasma, as well as autologous platelet-rich serum, was prepared from freshly-drawn bovine blood. Bovine platelet-poor plasma had properties similar to those previously described for human platelet-poor plasma; e.g., it would (a) support the growth of virally transformed but not normal BALB/c 3T3 cells, (b) act synergistically with either partially purified platelet-derived growth factor or fibroblast growth factor to initiate cell replication in quiescent 3T3 cells, and (c) act sequentially with platelet-derived growth factor to initiate 3T3 replication. It appears that bovine serum contains both competence and progression factors and that stimulation of fibroblasts with bovine serum involves at least two sequential stages analogous to those described for stimulation with human serum.