Purification and characterization of a cell growth factor from a human leukemia cell line: immunological identity with ferritin.

We have succeeded in long-term cultivation of a human erythroleukemia cell line, K-562-T1 (T. Okabe, M. Fujisawa, and F. Takaku, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 81: 453-455, 1984). The cells grown in a protein-free chemically defined medium have been shown to produce cell growth factors (A. Mihara et al., In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol., 23: 317-322, 1987). In this study, we have purified a cell growth factor from the conditioned medium that stimulates the proliferation of human leukemia cells, HL-60. In the purified factor, two major protein bands of 24 kDa and 22 kDa were identified on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel. The 22 kDa protein was stained with a monoclonal antibody to the light chain of ferritin. The growth-promoting activity of the purified factor was coprecipitated with a monoclonal antibody to the light chain or heavy chain of human ferritin. These results suggest that K-562-T1 cells produce a cell growth factor that is related to ferritin.