A novel biological factor that stimulates the peptidase activities of multicatalytic proteinase complex (MPC) has been identified and partially purified from human erythrocytes. The stimulatory factor enhances trypsin-like, chymotrypsin-like and peptidyl-glutamyl peptide hydrolyzing activity of MPC in a dose related manner. At saturating concentration of the stimulatory factor, MPC increases the activity to a different extent (10 to 56 fold) depending on the substrate used to assay the enzyme. The stimulatory factor does not hydrolyze neither amino-blocked peptides which are used to assay MPC nor typical substrates for amino and diamino-peptidases. The stimulatory factor is characterized by a high molecular mass (300 kDa) and an extreme instability since it loses the activity at 46 degrees C in 10 min and at 4 degrees C within a week. The stimulatory activity is inactivated by incubation in acidic or alkaline media, and by treatment with protease V8, but it is relatively resistant to the action of trypsin. It has been suggested that the novel stimulatory factor herein described is a protein or a protein complex which may modulate the function and the activity of MPC by association-dissociation interaction.