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M-L Rogers
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C Goddard
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G O Regester
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F J Ballard
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D A Belford
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Abstract

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is one of the predominant growth factors present in milk. The concentration, molecular mass forms and stability of TGF-β in bovine milk were investigated using a standard bioassay measuring the growth inhibition of a mink lung epithelial cell line. Most of the TGF-β bioactivity in milk was found to be in a latent form, which was also retained in the whey fraction. After acid activation, the total TGF-β concentration was 4·3 ± 0·8 ng and 3·7 ± 0·7 ng TGF-β per ml of milk and cheese whey respectively. Cation-exchange chromatography at pH 6·5 was used to concentrate latent whey-derived TGF-β, which could be activated by transient exposure to extremes of pH, urea or heat. Heparin did not significantly activate milk-derived TGF-β. Neutral gel filtration of the cationic whey fraction revealed a major peak of latent TGF-β with a molecular mass of 80 kDa and a smaller peak at 600 kDa. Transient acidification of the cationic whey fraction prior to neutral gel filtration, or gel filtration under acidic conditions, released low molecular mass TGF-β from both high molecular mass peaks. Whey-derived TGF-β was purified using a five-step chromatographic procedure. An N-terminal sequence was obtained for TGF-β2, which accounted for over 85% of the TGF-β bioactivity in whey. All TGF-β activity in whey could be neutralised by a monoclonal antibody directed against TGF-β1, -β2 and -β3. The results suggest that the majority of TGF-β in bovine milk is present in a small latent complex.

Journal of Endocrinology (1996) 151, 77–86

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D A Belford
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M-L Rogers
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G L Francis
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C Payne
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F J Ballard
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C Goddard
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Abstract

Cation-exchange chromatography effectively concentrates the cell growth activity present in whey and we have used this process as a basis to characterise further the growth factors present in bovine milk. Under neutral conditions, total bioactivity in the growth factor-enriched cation-exchange fraction chromatographed with an apparent molecular mass of 80–100 kDa. In contrast, acid gelfiltration chromatography resolved two peaks of cell growth activity. A peak at 15–25 kDa contained the bulk of growth activity for Balb/c 3T3 fibroblasts while bioactivity for L6 myoblasts and skin fibroblasts eluted with a molecular mass of 6 kDa. A peak of inhibitory activity for Mv1Lu and MDCK cells also eluted at 15–25 kDa. Both IGF-I and IGF-II were purified from fractions that eluted at 6 kDa, although the IGF peptides alone did not account for the total bioactivity recovered. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), identified by radioreceptor assay, eluted at a slightly higher molecular mass than the peak of growth activity for Balb/c 3T3 cells, and an anti-PDGF antibody was without effect on the growth of Balb/c 3T3 cells in response to the whey-derived factors. Further purification of the inhibitory activity for epithelial cells yielded a sequence for transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), and all inhibitory activity for Mv1Lu cells was immuno-neutralised by an antibody against TGF-β. In contrast, this antibody decreased the growth of Balb/c 3T3 fibroblasts in the whey-derived extract by only 10%. Finally, a cocktail of recombinant growth factors containing IGF-I, IGF-II, PDGF, TGF-β and fibroblast growth factor 2 stimulated growth of Balb/c 3T3 cells to a level equivalent to only 51% of that observed in the milk-derived growth factor preparation. We conclude that: (i) cell growth activity recovered from bovine whey is present in acid-labile high molecular weight complexes; (ii) all cell growth inhibitory activity for epithelial cells can be accounted for by TGF-β; (iii) IGF-I and IGF-II co-elute with the major peak of activity for L6 myoblasts and skin fibroblasts, although the IGF peptides alone do not explain the growth of these cells in the whey-derived extract; and (iv) neither PDGF nor TGF-β account for the 15–25 kDa peak of Balb/c 3T3 growth activity. These data suggest the presence of additional mitogenic factors in bovine milk.

Journal of Endocrinology (1997) 154, 45–55

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