Formation of macrophage (M) colony-stimulating factor by murine leukemia x fibroblast hybrid cells.

Clonogenic assays for M, GM, and G precursors of rat or mouse marrow cells were performed in the presence of medium conditioned by the growth of ASL-1 leukemia X LM fibroblast hybrid cells. Both GM- and M-colony-forming units (CFUs) were present in marrow cultures maintained in conditioned medium (CM) from hybrid cells (up to 162 +/- 10 total colonies per 10(5) cells) and from LM cells (65 +/- 5). Conditioned medium from ASL-1 cells did not lead to the formation of CFUs. The hybrid cell-derived CM supported the development of M and GM-CFUs from the marrows of DBA, CAF1, BDF1, C3D2F1, and C57B1/6 mice as well as Lewis, Brown Norway, and Wistar Furth rats. G-CFU were not detected in any of the preparations. Hybrid cell-CM supported the long-term growth and proliferation of macrophage-like cells from mouse spleen, consistent with the presence of M-colony-stimulating factor (CSF). Evidence that M-CSF formed by the hybrid cells and M-CSF formed by L cells shared structural features was provided by antibody neutralization studies. The CFU-promoting activity of hybrid cell-derived M-CSF was neutralized by an antiserum raised in goats against M-CSF purified from L cells. Independently prepared ASL-1 X LM hybrid cells, like the original, led to the formation of GM and M-CFUs. Attempts to detect each of several other previously defined growth factors in medium conditioned by the hybrid cells were unsuccessful. Interleukins 1, 2, and 3; B cell growth factors interferons alpha, beta, and gamma; erythropoietin; and burst promoting factor were not detected.