Recently, we suggested that the effect of differentiation inducing factor (D-factor) which is found in the supernatant of macrophages, and induced the differentiation of a mouse myeloid leukemic cell line, M1, into macrophage-like cells, may be a result of the cooperative effects of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin 1 (IL-1). In this study, we purified guinea pig (G.P.) TNF secreted from peritoneal macrophages and compared the antiproliferative and differentiative effects of the G.P. TNF with those of recombinant human TNF (rHuTNF). The purification scheme consisted of ultrafiltration, gel filtration-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), DEAE-HPLC, and reverse-phase HPLC. The cytotoxic activity of the purified substance was approximately 1.5 x 10(8) U/mg. The isoelectric point was 5.2. The molecular weight was 40 to 45 kDa as estimated by gel filtration and 18 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The NH2-terminal amino acid sequence was determined to be Ser-Ala-Ser-Gln-Asn-Asp . . . . Approximately 76 or 71% homology between G.P. TNF and mouse or human TNF exists in the NH2-terminal 21 residues. The purified G.P. TNF and rHuTNF demonstrated D-factor activity only in the presence of recombinant human IL-1 alpha in M1 cells. We also determined the effect of TNF on two human myeloid leukemic cell lines (THP-1 and U937). The purified G.P. TNF and rHuTNF inhibited the growth of U937 cells, but did not induce their differentiation. In THP-1 cells, TNF slightly inhibited the growth and induced differentiation. In mouse cell lines G.P. TNF was more effective than rHuTNF for differentiation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)