A unique growth factor in patients with acromegaloidism.

Acromegaloidism is a syndrome characterized by features of acromegaly without biochemical evidence of excessive GH or somatomedin production. We searched for a growth factor in the serum of patients with this syndrome. Growth-promoting activity was measured by determining the stimulatory effect of whole and fractionated serum on colony formation by human erythroid progenitors in vitro. Sera from five subjects with acromegaloidism gave a mean (+/- SEM) stimulated colony growth of 211 +/- 4.0 colonies, in contrast to normal sera which yielded a mean colony growth of 100 +/- 11.0 (n = 9; P less than 0.001). When serum was chromatographed on a Sephadex G-200 column, the maximal stimulation of colony growth was found in the fractions coinciding with the descending slope of the second protein peak. Based on gel filtration chromatography, the estimated molecular weight was 70,000 daltons. Epidermal growth factor, nerve growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor resulted in no substantial stimulation of colony growth under the conditions used. Although the erythroid progenitor cells of a Laron dwarf were unresponsive to 200 ng/ml human GH, they were clearly stimulated by serum from a patient with acromegaloidism. The present study describes the presence of a heretofore unidentified growth factor in the serum of subjects with acromegaloidism. This factor also stimulated the erythroid precursor cells of a Laron dwarf whose cells were unresponsive to GH. The physiological role of this growth factor in normal man as well as its pathogenic role in subjects with acromegaloidism remain to be established.