FREQUENT EXPRESSION OF RECEPTORS FOR GRANULOCYTE-MACROPHAGE COLONY-STIMULATING FACTOR ON HUMAN NONHEMATOPOIETIC TUMOR-CELL LINES

Receptors for granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) were identified on 9 of 35 (26%) human nonhematopoietic tumor cell lines including non‐small cell lung cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancer, and osteosarcoma cells. GM‐CSF receptors distributed on these human tumor cells were low affinity types with an equilibrium dissociation constant of 1.5–10.0 nM. Cross‐linking studies revealed that the molecular weights of the low affinity GM‐CSF receptors were 65–85 kilodaltons. The high affinity receptors identified on hematopoietic cells were not detected on human nonhematopoietic tumor cells which we studied, and we could detect no effects of GM‐CSF on cell growth of these tumor cells. Copyright © 1990 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.