title: Purification and identification of a growth factor produced by Paramecium tetraurelia.
abstract: We previously reported that the jumyo mutant of a cilate protozoan Paramecium tetraurelia excretes into the medium a factor which promotes its own cell division. Here, the factor was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity through a series of liquid chromatographic procedures. This substance is a protein with a molecular weight of 17,000 which at concentrations of 1 X 10(-9) M (17 ng/ml) or more results in the recovery of the cell division rate of the jumyo mutant to the level of the wild type. The factor is therefore considered to be a growth factor and was named Paramecium growth factor (ParGF). This is the first report of direct proof for the production of a growth factor in an organism other than vertebrates.
authors.affiliation: Government Industrial Research Institute, Takamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nishi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Akamatsu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaji
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002845:Chromatography; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009154:Mutation; D010247:Paramecium / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D006133:Growth Substances