Purification of GCT cell-derived human colony-stimulating factors

We have purified human-active colony-stimulating factors from the human cell line, GCT, using sequential ultrafiltration; cation exchange, gel permeation, and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RHPLC); and ion-exchange HPLC. Activity eluted from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels with a peak at 17,500 daltons. Similar results were obtained by processing 35S-methionine-labeled conditioned medium, which showed a labeled band in the same region of activity. This purified HPLC fraction, which had a specific activity of greater than 1 x 10(7) colonies/mg protein, stimulated neutrophil colonies at day 7 and neutrophil, neutrophil-macrophage, and eosinophil colonies at day 14 of culture, suggesting that it contained both granulocyte (G-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage (GM-CSF) colony-stimulating factors. It also promoted the growth of erythroid progenitors, and the GM-CSF fraction purified by hydrophobic chromatography had erythroid-enhancing activity. Separation of G-CSF from GM-CSF was accomplished by the addition of trifluoroacetic acid to the mobile phase at the reverse-phase HPLC step.