Among children with advanced neuroblastoma, serum concentrations of the iron storage protein ferritin correlate inversely with prognosis. To determine whether ferritin stimulates tumor cell growth, the effects of graded concentrations on cell number were studied for each of three neuroblastoma cell lines (CHP-126, CHP-100, IMR-32) plated in serum-free tissue culture medium. Ferritin extracted from human liver, spleen, or CHP-126 cells (150 ng/ml, final concentration) but not from human heart (150-300 ng/ml) resulted in 1.4-fold +/- 0.2-fold increases in cell numbers over 72 hours as measured spectrophotometrically after reduction of a tetrazolium dye. Higher concentrations of isoferritins (up to 1000 ng/ml) did not further increase cell number, but stimulation was abrogated by rabbit immunoglobulin G antiferritin. Although specific receptors for iodine 125-labeled ferritin could not be demonstrated on the two cell lines tested, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis, measured by incorporation of 3H-thymidine, also increased after addition of ferritin, by approximately 25%. We conclude that ferritin has mitogenic activity for human neuroblastoma cells in vitro which may explain the clinical correlation between levels of that protein and prognosis. Possible implications for therapy are discussed.