Induced differentiation of murine erythroleukemia cells (MELC) by polar compounds: marked increased sensitivity of vincristine resistant MELC

Abstract

Hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA) is a most effective compound as an inducer of MELC differentiation. HMBA-mediated terminal differentiation of MELC is a multistep process. There is a latent period during which a number of changes occur including the appearance of Ca2+ and phospholipid independent PKC activity in the cytosol, and modulation in expression of several genes, including c-myc, c-myb, c-fos and the p53 genes. During this latent period there is neither detectable commitment to terminal differentiation (including terminal cell division) or increased transcription of the globin genes. HMBA-mediated commitment to terminal differentiation is first detected at about 12 hr and increases in a stochastic fashion, until over 95% of the population has been recruited to terminal differentiation by 48 to 60 hr. Commitment is associated with persistent HMBA-mediated suppression of c-myb gene expression. By 36 to 48 hr, transcription of the globin genes has increased by 10 to 30 fold, whereas transcription of rRNA genes is suppressed. The steroid, dexamethasone, and the tumor promotor, phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate, suppress HMBA-induced MEL cell terminal differentiation. The evidence indicates that these agents act at a late step during the latent period. Recently, we showed that MELC variants selected for resistance to vincristine have a marked increased sensitivity to HMBA. Compared to the parental MELC strains, vincristine resistant MELC are: A) responsive to 1/5 to 1/10 the concentration of HMBA; B) induced to terminal differentiation without a latent period and C) resistant to inhibition of HMBA induced terminal differentiation by dexamethasone or tumor promotor. The vincristine resistant MELC have characteristics of the multidrug resistant phenotype. A number of independently derived vincristine resistant MELC lines show similar altered response to HMBA. These findings suggest that vincristine resistance leads to a constitutive expression of a factor or factors induced by HMBA in vincristine sensitive (wild type) MELC during the latent period and which are essential to the transition to terminal differentiation.