Bioassay of growth-stimulating activity of serum: comparison of lymphocyte and cartilage assays in normal and growth hormone-deficient children.

The somatomedin and/or growth-stimulating activity of serum from hypopituitary children and short children with normal growth hormone (GH) response to stimulation tests were studied using different bioassays: thymidine incorporation into human activated lymphocytes; sulfate incorporation into chick embryo cartilage; and simultaneous thymidine uptake into the same cartilages. The results showed that lymphocyte assay is highly sensitive to small amounts of serum and is GH-dependent in children with low GH secretion. On the contrary, the cartilage assays need higher serum concentration and their GH-dependence appears only in subjects with normal or low-normal GH secretion. The lack of correlation between the results of the three bioassays suggests that they measure both somatomedins and different serum factors involved in the regulation of growth.