Demonstration of a proliferation regulatory factor (PRF) in normal human urine, and its purification

A material(s) affecting the proliferation of eukaryotic cells, such as C3H2K cells, and prokaryotic cells, such as E. coli, was found in the urine of normal healthy men and was concentrated in a certain fraction, "lysin-Sepharose eluate," of the urine. The material was named proliferation regulatory factor, PRF. With increase in the concentration of PRF, the proliferation rate of normal eukaryotes and prokaryotes increased to maxima of no more than twice those of untreated cells. On further increase in the concentration of PRF the growth rates of these cells decreased to the rates of untreated cells. PRF enhanced the rates of synthesis of DNA and RNA in C3H2K cells about 2-fold, but strongly suppressed the rates of growth, DNA synthesis, and RNA synthesis of cancerous cells, such as HeLa and MH134/M cells. PRF was purified from the "lysine-Sepharose eluate" by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography and gel filtration on a Sephadex G-100 column. PRF consisted of three molecules with molecular weights of 41,000, 7,800, and 5,100, which were named PRF-I, II, and III, respectively. The lysine-Sepharose eluate and purified PRF's had similar effects on the proliferation of eukaryotes and prokaryotes.