Thrombopoietin (TPO), the ligand for the c-Mpl cytokine receptor, is a recently identified cytokine with potent effects on platelet production. The receptor-binding portion of c-Mpl ligand is encompassed in another molecule known as megakaryocyte growth and development factor, or MGDF. Although it is clear that the administration of TPO or MGDF to animals dramatically increases the platelet count, the specific stage(s) of thrombopoiesis during which these molecules are principally active have not been unambiguously determined. Pharmacology studies administering MGDF at doses ranging from 0.1 to 630 micrograms/kg/d to mice revealed a biphasic response in platelet production. Administration of the drug at concentrations from 6 to 60 micrograms/kg/d resulted in platelet counts 5-fold above normal. However, doses > 60 micrograms/kg/d resulted in less-than-optimal platelet production. This phenomenon was investigated in vitro. Using an established culture system for the generation of human megakaryocytes and platelets, MGDF was shown to be optimally and equivalently active in the generation of mature megakaryocytes at concentrations from 10 to 1000 ng/ml. However, the cytokine was not required for proplatelet formation and in fact was inhibitory to that process in a dose-dependent manner. When MGDF was added to human megakaryocytes at concentrations of 200 ng/ml or greater, proplatelet formation was inhibited to 30% of control values. MGDF-mediated inhibition was specific, since the addition of the truncated form of the c-Mpl receptor reversed the inhibition in a dose-dependent manner. Other recombinant factors, interleukin-6, interleukin-11 and erythropoietin had no significant positive or negative effects in this human proplatelet assay. Together, these data suggest that although TPO and MGDF promote the full spectrum of megakaryocyte growth and development, they are not necessary for proplatelet formation, and may in part regulate platelet shedding by their absence.