Quantitation of growth factors in ossein-mineral-compound

Study was undertaken to identify polypeptide factors in the commercially available ossein-mineral-compound and to see if they are present in a biologically relevant quantity. Using the guanidine-EDTA extraction, 35.7 +/- 0.1 mg proteins were obtained from 1 g of the ossein-mineral-compound. At concentration 1 micrograms/ml, guanidine-EDTA-extractable proteins stimulated the incorporation of thymidine into DNA by human bone cells to 581 +/- 122% (p less than 0.001) of that by bovine serum albumin-treated control cells, decreasing thereafter. Similarly, it stimulated the activity of alkaline phosphatase in the human bone cells. Growth factors IGF-I, IGF-II, and TGF-beta were identified in the ossein-mineral-compound. This leads to speculation regarding possible role of growth factors in explaining the beneficial effects of the compound in retarding bone loss in patients with osteoporosis.