IDENTIFICATION OF A HUMAN F-CELL GROWTH FACTOR

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Fetal hemoglobin can greatly reduce the symptoms of hemoglobin disorders such as sickle cell anemia and b-thalassemia diseases which affect millions of people worldwide. Cytotoxic agents are currently being used to attempt to switch the adult program of hemoglobin synthesis to fetal hemoglobin in these patients. There is a clear need to develop nontoxic agents to accomplish this result. There is also strong evidence that natural factors exist which are capable of accomplishing this in vitro systems. We propose to identify such a factor or factors, which we are calling F Cell Factor (FCF), using a new, two phase liquid culture system. In this assay system we will test not only sera from fetal calves, which has been shown to contain such a factor, but also human cord blood sera, serum from patients who show elevated fetal hemoglobulin, conditioned media from cell lines, non-human primate serum and recombinant hemopoietic growth factors. This project will establish a reliable assay and wi]l lead the way for future purification and cloning of the factor.