Purification and characterization of fibroblast growth factors from the opossum, Monodelphis domestica, brain.

An extract from the brain of the opossum Monodelphis domestica was fractionated by heparin affinity chromatography. A major peak of mitogenic activity (heparin binding growth factor 2, HBGF-2) eluted from heparin-Sepharose between 1.7 and 2.0 M NaCl. Antisera specific for bovine bFGF detected four polypeptides of 17.5–23 kDa in opossum brain HBGF-2 preparations. Opossum brain heparin binding growth factor 1 (HBGF-1), a minor peak of activity, eluted from heparin-Sepharose at 1.1 NaCl and contained a 16.2 kDa protein that cross-reacted with antiserum against bovine aFGF.