Increased fibroblast colony stimulating activity (F-CSA) in serum of myeloproliferative disorders.

Sera of patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF), primary thrombocythemia (PT), polycythaemia vera (PV) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) contained a significantly increased F-CSA (or F-CSAs) compared to those of normal subjects and patients with secondary thrombocytosis (ST). This F-CSA was heat sensitive and had the capacity to promote both proliferation and maturation of normal marrow fibroblast colony-forming cells (CFU-F). This F-CSA seemed to be different from human platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) from bovine brain. This F-CSA might be of importance in the pathogenesis of bone marrow fibrosis in myeloproliferative disorders.