Activities of four purified growth factors on highly enriched human hematopoietic progenitor cells.

The activities of four purified human growth factors: biosynthetic (recombinant) granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF); recombinant erythroid-potentiating activity (EPA); natural and recombinant pluripoietin (Ppo); and natural pluripoietin alpha (Ppo alpha), were compared on the growth of hematopoietic colonies from enriched populations of human marrow and blood progenitor cells. Conditioned medium from the Mo T cell line (MoCM) was used as a standard positive control. We found that activities of GM-CSF and Ppo alpha on the growth of hematopoietic colonies were indistinguishable; Ppo alpha is now believed to be identical to GM-CSF. Both factors were able to promote the growth of colonies derived from subpopulations of CFU-GM, BFU-E, and CFU-GEM. Colonies derived from CFU-GM and CFU-GEM in cultures stimulated by GM-CSF and Ppo alpha were much smaller than in cultures stimulated by MoCM. In contrast to previous reports in which less highly enriched progenitors were used as target cells, Ppo had no detectable activity on the growth of colonies derived from BFU-E or CFU-GEM but promoted the growth of a subpopulation of CFU-GM derived colonies. Ppo is now recognized to be identical to G-CSF. The GM colonies in cultures stimulated by G-CSF (Ppo) were much smaller than in cultures stimulated by MoCM. EPA had no detectable activity on either the size or number of colonies derived from CFU-GM, BFU-E, or CFU-GEM. Results from experiments using target cell populations of marrow fractions separated by velocity sedimentation and marrow populations following freezing suggested that GM-CSF (Ppo alpha) and G-CSF (Ppo) primarily affect the growth of relatively mature subpopulations of progenitor cells. It is clear from these results that additional factor(s) are present in MoCM that are necessary to stimulate CFU-GM, BFU-E, and CFU-GEM maximally in vitro.