Abstract
Summary
A highly purified α1-acid glycoprotein (AG) was found to stimulate the growth of cells in culture above 1 μg/ml in a serum-free medium. This effect was confirmed for the cells which grow as attached on a glass surface or in a floating state, based on the human embryonic lung fibroblast, HeLa, or Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cells. The presence of other factor(s) besides AG in the heat-denatured supernatant was indicated by YS (Yoshida sarcoma rat) cells which did not respond to AG at all. Asialo-AG exhibited the same activity as AG which does not carry Ca2+.
We thank Professor K. Schmid of Boston University Medical School for his generous supply of AG used as a standard and Professor Y. Hinuma for his interest and encouragement.
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