Abstract
1. A two-step method for the extraction of erythropoietin from hypoxic kidneys has been developed which allows residual plasma erythropoietin in renal vasculature to be separated from that of intracellular origin.
2. Renal extracts have been purified by DEAE cellulose chromatography and found to contain 2 major erythropoietically active fractions. One bears strong resemblance to plasma erythropoietin. The other component is unique in that it has practically no erythropoietic-stimulating activity unless previously incubated with normal rat serum. This activation phenomenon is used to identify this kidney component as the renal erythropoietic factor (REF). The REF has the capacity to produce erythropoietin or become erythropoietically active when incubated with normal rat serum.
3. Differential centrifugation technics revealed that the REF is confined to particles present in the light mitochondrial fraction of kidney.
4. Extracts of the light mitochondrial fraction of kidneys from normal rats produced significant amounts of erythropoietin when incubated with normal serum. The quantity found, however, was less than that evoked by similar extracts of kidneys from hypoxic rats.
5. The product of the incubation extracts of the renal light mitochondrial fraction with normal rat serum showed the same log dose/response regression as sheep plasma erythropoietin standard.
6. It is hypothesized that either (a) the REF is a precursor of erythropoietin which must be complexed with a carrier present in normal serum in order to become physiologically active, or (b) the renal factor is an enzyme which produces erythropoietin by its action on a particular serum protein.
