Characterization of possible receptor of colony-promoting activity (CPA) by comparison with that of colony-stimulating factor (CSF).

Supernatants of long-term mouse bone marrow cell cultures contain colony-promoting activity (CPA). CPA itself does not stimulate colony formation of granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cells (GM-CFC) when added to a semisolid agar culture of bone marrow cells, but augments colony formation in the presence of colony-stimulating factor (CSF). The CPA-responsive cells are postulated to be pre-GM-CFC, a cell compartment younger than GM-CFC. In absorption experiments, CSF-coated bone marrow cells failed to absorb CPA, whereas normal bone marrow cells absorbed the activity. Cholera toxin (CT) is known to inhibit GM-CFC colony formation of bone marrow cells, probably by binding to GM-CFC-receptors [8, 9]. In the present studies, preincubation of the cells with CPA, before exposure to CT, reduced the suppressive effect of CT on GM-CFC colony formation. CT also inhibited pre-GM-CFC colony formation. Such suppressive effects, however, were reduced by preincubation of the cells not only with CPA but also with CSF. These results suggest that CSF and CPA might share the same receptors. It may also suggest that CT does not bind to specific sites. A difference in the susceptibility of GM-CFC and pre-GM-CFC to suppression by CT was also observed. Incubation of the cells with a low concentration of CT resulted in the substantial decrease of the number of GM-CFC, whereas the number of pre-GM-CFC remained high. Therefore, it seems that CPA shares some but not all of the CSF receptors.