Identification of a major growth factor for AIDS-Kaposi's sarcoma cells as oncostatin M

Conditioned medium from human T cell leukemia virus type 2 (HTLV-II)-infected T cells supports the growth and long-term culture of cells derived from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-associated Kaposi's sarcoma lesions (AIDS-KS cells). A protein of 30 kilodaltons was purified from conditioned medium that supports the growth of AIDS-KS cells. The amino-terminal sequence of this protein was identical to the amino-terminal sequence of Oncostatin M, a glycoprotein that inhibits the growth of a variety of Cancer cells. Oncostatin M from conditioned medium stimulated a twofold increase in the growth of AIDS-KS cells at a concentration of less than 1 nanogram of the protein per milliliter of medium.