Characterization of intra- and extracellular transforming growth factors from normal and avian sarcoma virus-transformed rat cells.

Intra- and extracellular transforming growth factors (TGFs) have been characterized in an avian sarcoma virus-transformed rat cell line, 77N1, and the nontransformed parental cell line, NRK. Serum-free conditioned medium from 77N1 and cell extracts from NRK and 77N1 were subjected to ion exchange column chromatography. Intracellular TGFs in cell extracts of NRK and 77N1 cells showed a major peak of DNA synthesis-stimulating and colony-forming activities which eluted in the 0.10 to 0.15 M salt concentration region. Extracellular TGF in conditioned medium of 77N1 cells showed a major peak of activity which eluted at 0.05 to 0.06 M salt concentration. Furthermore partially purified extracellular TGF had a molecular weight of about 40,000 daltons, whereas that for intracellular TGF was about 12,000 daltons. These intra- and extracellular TGFs, as well as TGF gamma 2 which was purified from 77N1 cell extract, were heat- and acid-labile polypeptides sensitive to treatment with dithiothreitol. Radioimmunoprecipitation analyses with antiserum against TGF gamma 2 demonstrated that intra- and extracellular TGFs in 77N1 and NRK cells were immunologically identical or very closely related to each other and suggested the possibility that extracellular TGF from 77N1 cells was released into serum-free conditioned medium after formation of complex with other cellular components.