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We recently identified a differentiation inhibiting factor (I-factor) in mouse myeloid leukemia M1 cells as a murine homolog of nm23-H2/nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK)-B gene product. We examined the I-factor activities of several authentic nm23/NDPK proteins, i.e. recombinant rat NDPK alpha and beta, recombinant mouse nm23-M1 and -M2, and recombinant human nm23-H1 and -H2 containing a mutant nm23-H2His protein lacing NDPK activity. Almost all these nm23/NDPK proteins showed I-factor activity. Moreover, to understand the active domain exhibiting I-factor activity of nm23-H2 protein lacking NDPK activity, we have investigated the I-factor activities of some truncated nm23-H2 proteins. The truncated nm23-H2 protein containing N-terminal peptide 1-60 retained the I-factor activity. These results provide the first evidence for a function of nm23/NDPK as a differentiation inhibiting factor in leukemic cells, that is independent of its NDPK activity and dependent on the presence of N-terminal peptide.

The two alpha-methylated tryptamine derivatives, 5- (5-FMT) and 6-fluoro-alpha-methyltryptamine (6-FMT), rapidly induced a head-twitch response (HTR) in mice. Two derivatives that lack the methyl group in their chemical structures, 5- (5-FT) and 6-fluorotryptamine (6-FT), did not induce the HTR. The induced HTR was depressed by pretreatment with cycloheptadine, p-chlorophenylalanine or fluoxetine, but was potentiated by 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine. Both 5- and 6-FMT increased brain 5-HT levels in hypothalamus, hippocampus, brainstem, striatum and cortex. 5-FMT decreased the levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in those regions, but 6-FMT caused a significant decrease in only the hypothalamus and cortex. The two methylated derivatives inhibited mouse brain MAO-A activity more selectively than non-methylated derivatives. The results suggest that the HTR induced by 5- and 6-FMT may result from increased activity of central 5-HT neurons, probably due to increased 5-HT levels after MAO-A inhibition. This probably results in release of 5-HT with a concomitant increased interaction with postsynaptic 5-HT2 receptors. The present results also indicate the importance of the methyl group to selective MAO-A inhibition by the substrate-analogues tested, and the concomitantly induced animal behavior.

The effect of cytokines on the proliferation and differentiation of leukemia cells from 5 patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) was examined. Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1), interleukin-3 (IL-3), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) augmented uptake of 3H-thymidine into the DNA of APL cells in a dose-dependent manner in all cases. This stimulatory effect was pronounced in some, but not all, cells treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA). However, nitroblue tetrazolium-reducing activity was induced in a concentration-dependent manner by ATRA in all cases. The cytokines greatly enhanced NBT reduction of APL cells treated with ATRA, and a mixture of cytokines was more effective than a single cytokine. Although GM-CSF, IL-3 and IL-1 significantly modulated the ATRA-induced morphological changes, they did not induce CD14 expression, a typical marker of monocytic differentiation. In the presence of ATRA, GM-CSF potentiated production and secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) in response to lipopolysaccharide, as well as interferon-gamma which is a potent inducer of monocytic differentiation in APL cells. On the other hand, production of TNF in ATRA-treated cells was not affected by G-CSF which significantly enhanced granulocytic differentiation. The effect of cytokines on APL cell differentiation should be considered in ATRA treatment for APL patients. Potentiation of cytokine production in APL cells associated with myelomonocytic differentiation is noteworthy in the pathogenesis of "retinoic acid syndrome".

It has been shown recently that various myeloid leukemia cells can be induced by numerous compounds to differentiate terminally into non-growing mature cells. Furthermore, some of these compounds have been found to be clinically useful for the therapy of certain types of myeloid leukemia. To improve this new method of differentiation therapy of leukemia, we have studied on basic issues of such differentiation therapy including 1) development of more effective new inducers of differentiation of leukemia cells, 2) isolation and characterization of cytokines regulating growth and differentiation of leukemia cells, and 3) rationale for chemo-differentiation therapy of leukemia which is a combination chemotherapy of leukemia with differentiation inducers and cytotoxic anticancer drugs. In this article, recent results of our studies on these basic issues on differentiation therapy of leukemia are reviewed.

An animal leukemia model was developed to investigate in vivo induction of differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells. An aneuploid cell line (C15) was isolated from mouse myelomonocytic leukemia WEHI-3B D+ cells. The C15 cells contained twice as much DNA as the parental cells but retained the morphology of myelomonocytic cells and the ability to differentiate into macrophage-like cells in response to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in vitro. When the C15 cells were inoculated into the peritoneal cavity of syngeneic Balb/c mice (10(6) cells/mouse), the mice died of leukemia within 19 days. The DNA content and differentiation antigen (Mac-1) of the cells in the peritoneal cavity were determined by dual-parameter flow cytometry. On day 12 after inoculation, the C15 cells were distinguishable from normal host cells in the peritoneal cavity by their different DNA content. The administration of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) (10 micrograms/day) to mice bearing C15 cells induced the leukemia cells to express Mac-1 antigen and to change morphologically into mature granulocytic cells. Because the C15 cells were not responsive to G-CSF in suspension culture in vitro, this result suggests that the cytokine's actions on the cells in vivo and in vitro are different. This experimental model for analyzing in vivo differentiation of leukemia cells will be useful for studying the therapeutic effects of potential differentiation-inducing agents.

The molecular basis of the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1) is a structurally altered c-abl (bcr/abl) gene which encodes an abnormally large protein with protein tyrosine kinase activity. Herbimycin A, an inhibitor of tyrosine kinase, preferentially inhibited the growth of Ph1-positive acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) cell lines, as well as Ph1-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cell lines. Although noncytotoxic concentrations of herbimycin A induced erythroid differentiation of two CML-derived cell lines, K562 and KU812, in a previous study, the differentiation-inducing effect of herbimycin A on Ph1-positive ALL cell lines was less strong. Herbimycin A enhanced some differentiation-associated properties of one Ph1-positive ALL cell line, L2, but the effect of herbimycin A on the other Ph1-positive ALL cell lines was cytotoxic rather than cytostatic (differentiation-inducing). Several derivatives of herbimycin A were synthesized and their effects on the cell proliferation of Ph1-positive CML and ALL cell lines were examined. The sensitivities of the Ph1-positive cell lines to herbimycin A derivatives were different from the data on the rat kidney cell line infected with Rous sarcoma virus (v-src) derived from a previous study, suggesting bcr/abl kinase may differ in sensitivity from other tyrosine kinases. Moreover, the sensitivities of the ALL cell lines were not the same as those of the CML cell lines. These results suggest that a specific inhibitor of bcr/abl kinase could be an effective antileukemic agent against Ph1-positive CML or ALL.

Three cDNAs for mouse differentiation-stimulating factor (D-factor)/leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) receptor were isolated from a cDNA library prepared from the liver of a pregnant mouse. A probe for screening was prepared by the RT-PCR method using human cDNA sequences as primers. The mouse D-factor receptor cDNA encoded 1,092 amino acids, which had a marked homology with the human counterpart and consisted of signal sequence, extracellular, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic domains. The WSXWS motif found in members of the cytokine receptor family was also present in the extracellular domain of the mouse D-factor receptor. A second form of cDNA that had a 501 bp insertion was isolated. The insertion introduced a stop codon so that the mRNA encoded the soluble receptor lacking transmembrane and intracellular domains. Because the insertion contained polyadenylation signals, two different sizes of mRNA encoding the soluble receptor were produced, depending on whether or not it utilized these signals. Transcripts utilizing these signals were 2.6-3 kb in size, and were very abundantly expressed in the liver. Transcripts that did not use these signals were longer than 5 kb and of similar size to the mRNA for the cellular receptor.

Various alkyl ether lipids were synthesized and their effects on the proliferation of human lung carcinoma cells were examined. The proliferation of Lu-65, a giant cell carcinoma cell line, was significantly decreased with 1 microgram/ml (3-tetradecyloxy-2-methoxy) propyl-2-trimethylammonioethyl phosphate, while the proliferation of Lu-99, another giant cell carcinoma cell line, was unaffected even by treatment with 5 micrograms/ml of the alkyl lysophosphocholine. Adenocarcinoma PC-9 and small cell carcinoma H-69 cells were also fairly resistant to the alkyl ether lipid. Among the alkyl ether lipids tested, 3-nonadecyloxy-2-methoxypropyl 2-trimethylammonioethyl phosphate was the most effective in inhibiting the growth of Lu-65 cells. However, the pyridinioethyl derivative had higher selectivity for the growth of Lu-65 cells than the choline derivative. The sensitivity of Lu-65 cells to the alkyl lysophospholipids was similar to that of human myeloid leukemia cells including HL-60. However, the sensitivities of Lu-65 cells to the other types of alkyl ether lipids were much lower than those of HL-60 cells. These results indicate that Lu-65 cells are selectively sensitive to alkyl lysophospholipids.

Interleukin 4 (IL-4) inhibited the differentiation of mouse myeloid leukemia M1 cells induced by leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), interleukin 6, or dexamethasone and conversely enhanced the induction of M1 cell differentiation by 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. IL-4 blocked LIF-induced differentiation of M1 cells when it was added to the culture medium within 10 h after LIF, but IL-4 did not block differentiation when it was added 12 h after LIF. These results indicate that IL-4 inhibited a critical intermediate step in myeloid leukemia cell differentiation. LIF markedly stimulated the expression of junB mRNA within 2 h but suppressed the expression of c-myb and c-myc after 2- and 12-h treatment, respectively. IL-4 did not significantly affect LIF-induced junB expression or suppression of c-myb expression. However, it interfered significantly with the LIF-induced suppression of c-myc gene expression. Similar results were obtained when interleukin 6 was used to induce differentiation of M1 cells. Dexamethasone and 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 did not induce junB gene expression but suppressed the expression of c-myb and c-myc. IL-4 also interfered with dexamethasone-induced suppression of c-myc gene expression. On the other hand, IL-4 enhanced 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-induced down-regulation of c-myc gene expression, consistent with its enhancement of differentiation. These results indicate that the change in c-myc expression induced by IL-4 in M1 cells is closely associated with the effect of IL-4 on the induction of differentiation of M1 cells.

We investigated the effect of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF beta) on the proliferation and differentiation of cultured acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells with the chromosomal t(15;17) translocation obtained from four patients to determine the role of TGF beta on growth and differentiation of APL cells. DNA synthesis, determined by 3H-thymidine uptake, was inhibited in the presence and absence of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in a dose-dependent manner by TGF beta in APL cells obtained from three of the four cases. TGF beta and G-CSF did not significantly affect the differentiation of APL cells, but all-trans retinoic acid (RA) induced morphological and functional differentiation in all APL cells tested. G-CSF markedly enhanced RA-induced granulocytic differentiation in APL cells obtained from all four cases. In cells in which TGF beta inhibited DNA synthesis, it also inhibited RA-induced granulocytic differentiation of APL cells and, to a greater degree, granulocytic differentiation induced by RA plus G-CSF. These results suggest that TGF beta is a negative regulator of the proliferation and differentiation of APL cells. The significance of TGF beta as an endogenous regulator in differentiation therapy with RA of APL patients is discussed.

We examined the distribution of mRNAs for differentiation-stimulating factor (D-factor)/leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) receptor in various mouse tissues by Northern blotting. A mouse cDNA fragment encoding the D-factor receptor was prepared by the RT-PCR method using human cDNA sequences as primers. The smallest mRNA (3 kb) was present in the liver, but not detectable in other tissues examined. Larger mRNAs (5 and 10 kb) were present in the placenta and the M1 cells, and also detectable in the liver, kidney, heart, lung, brain and embryos. Expression of 3 kb mRNA in the liver increased during pregnancy, being 20 times the initial level on day 15. D-factor receptor cDNAs were isolated from a cDNA library prepared from the liver of a pregnant mouse. Most of the cDNA clones encoded a soluble receptor. A cDNA probe specific for the cellular receptor did not hybridize with 3 kb mRNA in the liver. These results suggest that 3 kb mRNA encodes a soluble D-factor receptor and that the liver is the primary site of synthesis of this soluble receptor.

Mouse leukemia Mm-A and Mm-S2 cells are subclones of mouse monocytic leukemia Mm cells, Mm-A cells having much higher leukemogenicity than Mm-S2 cells. The growth-inhibitory effects of several protein kinase inhibitors on leukemogenic Mm-A and non-leukemogenic Mm-S2 cells were examined. Most inhibitors of protein serine/threonine kinases inhibited the growth of Mm-A and Mm-S2 cells similarly, but some protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors exhibited differential inhibitory effects on Mm-A and Mm-S2 cells. Genistein inhibited growth of Mm-A cells more effectively than that of Mm-S2 cells, but another inhibitor of tyrosine kinase, herbimycin A, preferentially inhibited growth of non-leukemogenic Mm-S2 cells. Genistein induced or enhanced several differentiation markers of Mm-S2 cells, such as cell spreading, immunophagocytosis, nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction and lysozyme activity in a dose-dependent manner, but herbimycin A did not. Genistein was cytotoxic to Mm-A cells rather than inducing cell differentiation. Genistein has effects on several other cellular events as well as inhibition of tyrosine kinases. However, it effectively inhibited protein tyrosine phosphorylation in Mm-A cells and its decrease of tyrosine phosphorylation was closely associated with its inhibition of cell growth. Thus, a genistein-sensitive tyrosine kinase(s) may play an important role in the growth and/or survival of leukemogenic Mm-A cells.

In severe infection, the host responds to foreign agents and produces cytokines to activate lymphocytes and macrophages. Some of these cytokines can modulate growth and differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells. We examined differentiation-inducing activities in the sera from 9 patients with leukemia or lymphoma. These results indicate that some sera from infected patients, even with acute leukemia, have significant differentiation-inducing activities on both mouse and human leukemia cells, and that cytokines having differentiation-inducing activities varied for different specimens.

Protein kinase activities are involved in cellular proliferation and differentiation, and inhibitors of these activities are useful for studying the mechanisms of induction of differentiation. We found that staurosporine, an inhibitor of protein kinase activities, induced morphological differentiation of human myeloblastic leukemia ML-1 cells along myelomonocytic lineage and also induced functional differentiation (increase in nitroblue tetrazolium-reducing and lysozyme activities) in the cells. Several other protein kinase inhibitors such as 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine dihydrochloride (H-7), sphingosine, N-(6-aminoethyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide and 1-(5-chloronaphthalene-1-sulfonyl)-1H-hexahydro-1,4-diazepine hydrochloride (ML-9) did not induce the differentiation of ML-1 cells. Treatment with staurosporine induced formation of granules in ML-1 cells, and the granules showed metachromasia by toluidine blue staining; however, histamine content did not increase. The "metachromatic" ML-1 cells were positive for CD14, indicating that staurosporine induced the differentiation of ML-1 cells into metachromatic monocytes/macrophages, 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3) enhanced appearance of metachromatic granules in staurosporine-treated cells. These results suggest that modulation of protein phosphorylation by a staurosporine-sensitive protein kinase(s) may be associated with differentiation of ML-1 leukemia cells.

Differentiation-stimulating factor (D-factor)/leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is known to have multiple biological activities besides induction of differentiation of mouse myeloid leukemia M1 cells. Little is known about how its activities are regulated in vivo, but it has been suggested to play a regulatory role in the mechanisms involved in development of mice. In this study, we found that a single class of D-factor-binding substance is present in normal mouse serum and that it increases transiently in the late stage of pregnancy. It inhibits the induction of differentiation of mouse myeloid leukemic M1 cells by D-factor by blocking the binding of this factor to the cells. It is a heat-labile protein with an apparent molecular weight of 130,000-150,000. The binding of 125I-D-factor to the substance is specific since it was inhibited by excess unlabeled D-factor, but not by interleukin 6 or interferon gamma. The dissociation constant of the binding substance for mouse D-factor in normal mouse serum is 6.6-9.4 nM. In the late stage of pregnancy, the amount of the D-factor-binding substance in the serum apparently increases about 30-fold. These results suggest that the D-factor-binding substance regulates the activity of D-factor during embryonic development of mice.

Inhibitors of protein kinase activities are useful for the study of intracellular signal transduction and some of these inhibitors are reported to induce differentiation of human leukemia cells. We examined effects of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in combination with several kinase inhibitors on differentiation of human leukemia U937 cells. Nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT)-reducing activity, a typical marker of myelomonocytic differentiation, of U937 cells was induced by genistein and GM-CSF enhanced this activity. GM-CSF also induced the NBT-reducing activity of the cells in combination with 2,5-dihydroxycinnamic acid methyl ester, psi-tectorigenin and staurosporine, although each of them did not induce the activity. Inhibitors of myosin light chain kinase, 1-(5-chloronaphthalene-1-sulfonyl)-1H-hexahydro-1,4-diazepine hydrochloride (ML-9) and 1-(5-iodonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl)-1H-hexahydro-1,4-diazepine hydrochloride (ML-7), induced in U937 cells NBT-reduction, and lysozyme and alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase activities. GM-CSF inhibited this differentiation and counteracted the anti-proliferation effect of the kinase inhibitors. These results suggest that some protein kinases are involved in differentiation of U937 cells and the kinases inhibited by ML-9 and ML-7 are associated with signal transduction of GM-CSF.

Polystyrene and polyalpha-methylstyrene are thermally decomposed, and the products are measured by fluorescence spectrometry and multiphoton ionization spectrometry. The monomers are found to be major products from both the polymers, but many other chemical species, including dimers and trimers, are also observed. The present instrument is applied to a mixture sample containing these two polymers, and the components included are selectively determined using this hyphenated technique.

The authors examined the effect of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, erbstatin, and its analogues on abl oncogene functions. Erbstatin and its stable analogue methyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate (2,5-MeC) inhibited the growth of v-ablts-NIH3T3 cells at the permissive temperature (33 degrees C) at lower concentrations than at the non-permissive temperature (39 degrees C). 2,5-MeC inhibited the morphological transformation and the activation of v-abl tyrosine kinase by the temperature shift (39 degrees C to 33 degrees C) more effectively than erbstatin. Previously the authors reported that erbstatin induced erythroid differentiation of K562 human chronic myelogenous leukaemia cells, so they examined the effect of erbstatin analogues on the erythroid differentiation. Among eight erbstatin analogues studied, ethyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells most effectively. Ethyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate also inhibited bcr-abl tyrosine kinase. These results indicate that the stable analogues of erbstatin suppress oncogene functions of Abl by inhibiting its tyrosine kinase.

We studied the effects of D-factor on the growth of leukemic blast progenitors from 15 patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia and two leukemia cell lines in methylcellulose and suspension cultures. When stimulated by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor or interleukin-3, leukemic blast progenitors undergo terminal division with limited differentiation in methylcellulose culture, forming blast colonies. Leukemic blast progenitors can renew themselves. The self-renewal can be detected as secondary colony formation after replating primary blast colonies in fresh methylcellulose media and by the growth of clonogenic cells in suspension culture. D-Factor suppressed primary and secondary colony formation in methylcellulose culture. Furthermore, D-factor suppressed clonogenic cell recovery in suspension culture. The suppression by D-factor of the growth of leukemic blast progenitors was not significantly dependent upon the colony-stimulating factors used as growth-stimulating factors. High concentration of G-CSF did not overcome the suppressive effect of D-factor. The results indicate that D-factor is effective in suppressing not only terminal division but also self-renewal of leukemic blast progenitors.

Mouse monocytic leukemia Mm cells are a line of spontaneously differentiated cells obtained from mouse myeloblastic leukemia M1 cells. The effect of interleukin 4(IL-4) on the proliferation of Mm cells in the presence or absence of growth inhibitory substances was investigated. In semi-solid agar culture, IL-4 markedly inhibited colony formation by Mm cells, reducing the number of colonies to 50% of that in control cultures at concentration of 3 U/ml. In contrast, IL-4 did not inhibit colony formation by the parent M1 cells. In liquid culture, IL-4 alone inhibited the proliferation of Mm cells only slightly. However, a combination of IL-4 and 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3), which alone did not inhibit growth significantly, markedly inhibited the growth of Mm cells. This combination also increased the lysozyme activity of Mm cells significantly. On the other hand, IL-4 suppressed the antiproliferative effects of interferon alpha, beta and IL-6, which are growth inhibitory cytokines for these Mm cells. These results indicate that IL-4 can modulate the growth of monocytic leukemia Mm cells and that its modulatory effects depend on growth inhibitory substances.

The aim of the present study was to clarify acute anti-fatiguing effects of three crude liquid drug preparations (S1-S3), containing almost the same amounts of Ginseng Radix, Epimedii Herba and Agkistrodon Japonicae, with each differentially containing an additional 11, 13 or 15 crude drugs. After preloading forced swimming or tetrabenazine (TBZ: 50, 100 mg/kg, i.p.), each of the S1-S3 preparations applied orally (0.1 ml/10 g) significantly increased the duration times of swimming together with decreased total duration times of immobility during swimming. These effects peaked 60 min postinjection with the following decreasing order of effectiveness: S3 > S2 > S1. The same order of efficacy was also found for increased locomotor activity and decreased durations of swimming immobility after TBZ. After pretreatment with 200 mg/kg TBZ preparations S1-S3 also increased the numbers of jumping on a hot plate with greatly reduced latency. Without preloading the forced swimming, S1-S3 did not have any effect on jumping and its latency, but both S2 and S3 significantly, but more weakly, as compared to those after its preloading, decreased the immobility times. These results indicate that these crude preparations may cause tonic effects and so far tested, these effects seem to be more effective on subjects fatigued with physical and/or mental works than an normal subjects.

Mouse myeloid leukemic M1 cells can be induced to differentiate into macrophages by differentiation-stimulating factor (D-factor)/leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). We examined the effect of D-factor on the survival times of syngeneic mice implanted with two different clones (T-22 and R-4) of M1 cells. D-factor induced differentiation and suppressed DNA synthesis of sensitive T-22 cells but not resistant R-4 cells in vitro. For in vivo experiments, we used recombinant mouse D-factor (rmD-factor) produced in mammalian cells, which is glycosylated and is more stable in vitro and in vivo than unglycosylated rmD-factor produced in Escherichia coli. Treatment with rmD-factor prolonged the survival times of mice implanted with T-22 cells but not R-4 cells.

Herbimycin A, a selective inhibitor of tyrosine kinase activity, induced differentiation of leukemia cells isolated from Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia patients. However, it did not induce differentiation of leukemia cells from acute myelogenous leukemia patients, although these cells could be induced to differentiate by treatment with appropriate compounds. A selective inhibitor of tyrosine kinase might be useful in chemotherapy of Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukemia.

Synthesis of the biologically active metabolite(s) from 1 alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 (1 alpha(OH)D3) was examined in various types of human leukemia cell lines. Untreated monocytoid leukemia cells (U937 and HEL/S) metabolized 1 alpha (OH)D3 to the active metabolite(s), possibly 1 alpha, 24- and/or 1 alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and these cells were efficiently induced to differentiate by treatment with 1 alpha (OH)D3. However, the other types of leukemia cells did not efficiently metabolize it and were not induced to differentiate by 1 alpha (OH)D3. The possible therapeutic advantage of 1 alpha (OH)D3 in the treatment of monocytic leukemia is discussed.

1 alpha, 25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (D3) (100 nM) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) (100 U/ml) cooperatively inhibited the proliferation of HL-60 cells, and synergistically induced their monocytic differentiation. The growth-promoting effect of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (10 ng/ml) was inhibited appreciably by D3 and slightly by IFN-gamma. Despite the clear difference in their effects on growth of HL-60 cells, both IFN-gamma and GM-CSF in combination with D3 induced cell cycle changes, decreasing the number of cells in the S phase and increasing their percentage in the G1/0 phase. GM-CSF alone had no effect on differentiation, but enhanced differentiation induced by D3 distinctly though to a limited extent, and also enhanced monocytic differentiation, including morphological changes of HL-60 cells in the presence of D3 and IFN-gamma. GM-CSF as well as D3 and IFN-gamma induced interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) production by the HL-60 cells, clearly indicating their importance in differentiation of these cells. IFN-gamma and GM-CSF had mutually potentiating effects and induced maximum IL-1 beta production in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the presence of D3. Thus despite its growth-promoting effect, GM-CSF is a potential inducer of monocytic differentiation of human myeloid leukemia cells, because in cooperation with IFN-gamma it induced monocyte-macrophage differentiation of HL-60 cells in the presence of D3.

Twenty-seven novel nucleobases and nucleosides were synthesized by structural modification of uracil, and their effects on growth and differentiation of human myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells were examined. Some of the compounds inhibited the growth of HL-60 effectively. The nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT)-reducing activities of cells treated with the concentrations of these compounds for 50% inhibition of growth were compared. TI-66 (2,4-dibenzyl-6-fluoro-7,7,8,8-tetramethyl-cis-2,4-diazabicyclo-[4.2.0] octane-3,5-dione) was the most effective inducer of NBT-reducing activity and morphological differentiation of HL-60 cells into cells of the myelomonocytic lineage. TI-66 was also effective for induction of differentiation of another human myelogenous leukemia cell line, ML-1 cells, but not for differentiation of human erythroid leukemia K562 or HEL cells, or monocytic U937 cells. The effect of TI-66 in inducing differentiation of HL-60 cells was additive or more than additive in combination with retinoic acid or vitamin D3. Adenine or hypoxanthine alone induced NBT-reducing activity of the cells, and at suboptimal concentrations these compounds enhanced the effect of TI-66, but the enhanced NBT-reducing activities did not exceed the maximal activity induced by TI-66 alone. Simultaneous treatment of HL-60 cells with hypoxanthine reduced the growth inhibition by TI-66 alone. TI-66 was about 150 times more potent on a molar basis than adenine in inducing differentiation of HL-60 cells. These results suggest that nucleobase analogs such as TI-66 should be useful for differentiation therapy of some types of myelogenous leukemia.

Herbimycin A, a benzoquinonoid ansamycin antibiotic, reduces intracellular phosphorylation by some tyrosine kinases, including v-abl. The mouse megakaryoblastic cell line C1 expresses v-abl protein at high levels. Herbimycin A at about 20 ng/ml caused 50% inhibition of growth of C1 cells but at 100 ng/ml scarcely affected the growth of another mouse leukemia cell line, M1 cells, or of normal bone marrow cells. Injection of 10(6) C1 cells into nude mice resulted in death of all the mice within 30 days. Administration of herbimycin A significantly enhanced the survival of mice inoculated with C1 cells but scarcely affected the survival of mice inoculated with M1 cells. These results suggest that herbimycin A and/or related compounds may be useful for treatment of some types of leukemia in which tyrosine kinase activity is implicated as a determinant of the oncogenic state.

Leukemia inhibitory factor/differentiation-stimulating factor (LIF/D-factor), expression of its mRNA, and possible roles in bone metabolism were studied in murine primary and clonal osteoblast-like cells. Local bone-resorbing factors such as IL-1, TNF alpha, and LPS strongly induced expression of LIF/D-factor mRNA in both clonal MC3T3-E1 cells and primary osteoblast-like cells. Neither parathyroid hormone nor 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 stimulated expression of LIF/D-factor mRNA. LIF/D-factor per se did not stimulate expression of its own mRNA. Appreciable amounts of LIF/D-factor were detected in synovial fluids from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients but not in those with osteoarthritis (OA). Simultaneous treatment with LIF/D-factor, IL-1, and IL-6 at the concentrations found in synovial fluids from RA patients greatly enhanced bone resorption, though these cytokines did not stimulate bone resorption when separately applied. This suggests that LIF/D-factor produced by osteoblasts is in concert with other bone-resorbing cytokines such as IL-1 and IL-6 involved in the bone resorption seen in the joints of RA patients. LIF/D-factor specifically bound to MC3T3-E1 cells with an apparent dissociation constant of 161 pM and 1,100 binding sites/cell. LIF/D-factor dose-dependently suppressed incorporation of [3H]thymidine into MC3T3-E1 cells. In addition, it potentiated the alkaline phosphatase activity induced by retinoic acid, though LIF/D-factor alone had no effect on enzyme activity. These results suggest that LIF/D-factor is involved in not only osteoclastic bone resorption but also osteoblast differentiation in conjugation with other osteotropic factors.

There is increasing evidence that various tumor cells can be induced by differentiation inducers including biological response modifiers, synthetic chemicals and conventional anticancer drugs to differentiate terminally both in vitro and in vivo into cells with normal characteristics. The differentiated cells lose their abilities for proliferation and transplantation in animals. Furthermore, survival times of the animals inoculated with various tumors were found to prolong by administration with the differentiation inducers. These basic findings suggest that induction of terminal tumor cell differentiation is another strategy for cancer therapy: differentiation therapy of cancer. Principles, current status and perspectives of the differentiation therapy of leukemia are reviewed in this article.

A patient with acute myelomonocytic leukemia (M4 in FAB classification) refractory to various kinds of intensive chemotherapy was intravenously administered low doses (7 or 14 mg/m2) of aclacinomycin-A (ACM-A) daily. This increased mature neutrophils and monocytes and decreased leukemia cells in the peripheral blood. Pelger Huet-like nuclear anomaly, observed in the neutrophils, suggested the leukemic nature of these cells. The in vivo findings were clearly correlated with the in vitro results in which ACM-A could induce myelomonocytic differentiation of the leukemia cells. During the course of the treatment, the patient achieved and maintained good general condition for more than nine months after the initiation of the treatment. In clinical trials, nine patients, five with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and four with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), were treated with low doses of ACM-A. Five patients, three AML and two MDS, responded to the treatment. The results suggest that low doses of ACM-A may induce in vivo differentiation of leukemia cells, and may be a potential therapeutic strategy in the treatment of AML or MDS that is refractory to conventional chemotherapy.

Mouse myeloid leukemic line M1 cells can be induced to differentiate into the monocyte/macrophage pathway by various inducers. The induction of differentiation of M1 cells can be inhibited by protein inhibitors termed differentiation inhibiting factors (I-factors) in a cell lysate and conditioned medium of differentiation resistant M1 cells. Production of the I-factor activity in resistant M1 cells is well associated with development of resistance of M1 cells to differentiation inducers. We have now purified one of the I-factors from conditioned medium of differentiation resistant M1 cells. The purified I-factor has a relative molecular mass of approximately 16000-17000 Da (16K I-factor). The amino acid sequence of all fragments of the 16K I-factor we have found are identical with Nm23/nucleoside diphosphate kinase (EC2.7.4.6) protein involved in tumor metastasis. The findings indicate that the I-factor, a candidate suppressor protein for differentiation of leukemic cells, is Nm23/nucleoside diphosphate kinase protein.

Herbimycin A, a specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor, induced erythroid differentiation of human myelogenous leukemia K562 cells with a high level of bcr/abl tyrosine kinase. Several derivatives of herbimycin A were synthesized and their effects on cell proliferation and differentiation of K562 cells were examined. Of the compounds tested, 19-allylaminoherbimycin A was the most effective in inducing differentiation of K562 cells. However, the parent compound was the most potent growth inhibitor, suggesting that chemical modification of herbimycin A reduces the growth-inhibiting activity. The sensitivities of K562 cells to herbimycin derivatives were different from those of a rat kidney cell line infected with Rous sarcoma virus (v-src), suggesting that bcr/abl kinase may differ in sensitivity from other tyrosine kinases. These results indicate that a specific inhibitor of bcr/abl kinase could be an effective antitumor agent against chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Growth inhibitory (GI) factors for mouse monocytic leukemia cells were previously found in conditioned medium (CM) of a clone of mouse myeloblastic leukemia Ml cells (R1-GI factor) and in CM of mouse lung tissue (L-GI factor). In the present study, the effects of these GI factors on the growth of variant cell lines (Mm-A, Mm-P and Mm-S2) of mouse monocytic line Mm-1 cells were examined. Mm-A are highly leukemogenic to syngeneic SL mice, Mm-P cells are moderately leukemogenic, while Mm-S2 cells have little or no leukemogenicity. The R1-GI factor markedly suppressed the growth of Mm-A cells, whereas it inhibited the growth of Mm-P and Mm-S2 cells only moderately. Recombinant mouse interferon beta (IFN beta) had similar target specificities to those of the R1-GI factor on these variant cells. Moreover, anti-mouse IFN beta antibody completely neutralized the GI activity of the R1-GI factor on Mm-A cells. These results show that the R1-GI factor and mouse IFN beta are very similar and probably identical proteins. The L-GI factor had different target specificities from the R1-GI factor: it showed strongest GI activity on Mm-P cells, moderate GI activity on Mm-S2 cells and weak GI activity on Mm-A cells. Recombinant human interleukin 6 (IL-6) had similar target specificities to the L-GI factor on these Mm-1 variant cells. Furthermore, the L-GI factor could support the proliferation of IL-6-dependent MH60.BSF2 cells. Anti-mouse IL-6 antiserum neutralized the GI activity of the L-GI factor on Mm-P cells. Thus the L-GI factor and mouse IL-6 seem to be closely related and possibly to be identical proteins.

We synthesized a new series of nonphosphorus alkyl ether glycerolipids, in which the 2-acetyl group of platelet-activating factor was replaced by a pyrimidin-2-yl group and the 3-phosphocholine portion by an omega-(substituted ammonio)ethoxyethyl side-chain including omega-thiazolio-, imidazolio- and pyridinio groups with or without a carboxyl substituent, respectively (compound I-XI). Their effects on cell proliferation and differentiation of human myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells were examined. Incubation of HL-60 cells with these cationic and zwitterionic alkyl ether lipids inhibited proliferation of HL-60 cells with IC50 values ranging from 10 to 500 ng/mL. The cells were induced by the lipids to differentiate into morphologically and functionally mature granulocytes. Among the compounds we tested, 1-octadecyl-2-pyrimidinyl-3-[3-(5- carboxylatepentyl)imidazolioethoxyethyl]glycerol (compound I) was the most effective in inducing differentiation of HL-60 cells. Compound I showed on a molar basis, an inhibitory effect on the leukemic cells over 50 times greater than did 2-(2-dodecyloxyethoxy)ethyl 2-pyridinio-ethyl phosphate, the antileukemic alkyl ether phospholipid.

The effects of interleukin-4(IL-4) on the growth and differentiation of mouse myeloid leukemia M1 cells induced by various differentiation inducers were investigated. IL-4 alone did not have any significant effect on the growth or differentiation of M1 cells, but inhibited their differentiation induced by dexamethasone, D-factor/leukemia inhibitory factor, or interleukin 6. IL-4 also restored the proliferation of M1 cells after growth inhibition during their induction of differentiation by inducers. In contrast, IL-4 enhanced inhibition of growth and induction of differentiation of M1 cells by 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. These results indicate that modulation of differentiation of M1 cells by IL-4 depends on the differentiation inducer.

The sensitivity of human myelogenous leukemia cells to 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) during induction of differentiation was examined. Treatment with hemin greatly increased the sensitivity of erythroid leukemia cells to ara-C. The enhancement of ara-C sensitivity by hemin was not as remarkable in nonerythroid leukemia cells. Hemin altered the metabolism of ara-C in human erythroleukemia K562 cells by reducing ara-C deaminase activity, increasing intracellular accumulation of ara-C, and activating the nucleoside kinases. These alterations may be involved in the enhancing effect of hemin on sensitivity of ara-C. These results suggest that some inducers of differentiation potentiate the antileukemic effect of ara-C on human erythroleukemia cells.

Mouse C1 line cells are megakaryoblastic cells established by coinfection of Abelson murine leukemia virus and recombinant simian virus 40. We examined the effects of various compounds on growth and differentiation of these cells. Megakaryocytic differentiation of C1 cells was not induced by cytokines that stimulate megakaryocytic maturation of normal progenitor cells, such as interleukin 3 and 6 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. However, the cells were induced to differentiate into megakaryocytes by treatment with some protein kinase inhibitors. The inhibition of v-abl tyrosine kinase activity preceded induction of differentiation of the cells treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as genistein, herbimycin A, and erbstatin. Treatment of C1 cells with a v-abl antisense oligomer inhibited their proliferation and induced acetylcholinesterase activity, a typical marker of megakaryocytic differentiation. These results suggest that inhibition of v-abl function is associated with induction of megakaryocytic differentiation of C1 cells. Among the compounds tested, 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7), a potent inhibitor of cyclic nucleotide-dependent and Ca(2+)-phospholipid-dependent (protein kinase C) protein kinases, was the most potent inducer of differentiation of C1 cells. However, the differentiation-inducing effect of H-7 was unlikely to be mediated through inhibition of protein kinase C or cyclic nucleotide-dependent kinases, because other types of inhibitors of these kinases were not effective, and a protein kinase activator (phorbol ester) induced differentiation of C1 cells. Moreover, neither v-abl mRNA expression nor v-abl kinase activity in C1 cells was affected by treatment with H-7. These findings indicate that induction of megakaryocytic differentiation by H-7 is not related to inhibition of v-abl kinase, but rather to some novel function of H-7.

New pyrimidine nucleoside analogs (18 compounds) were synthesized and their growth-inhibiting and differentiation-inducing activities on human myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells were examined. Some of the analogs were found to induce nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reducing activity in the HL-60 cells. The inducing activities of these compounds were compared at their concentrations for 50% inhibition of cell growth. TI-79 (3-benzyl-5-methyl-3-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl)pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine- 2,4(1H,3H)-dione) was a very effective inducer of NBT-reduction and of differentiation of the cells into mature granulocytes. The induction of NBT-reducing activity by TI-79 was inhibited by high concentrations of the natural nucleoside, adenosine. Other differentiation inducers, such as retinoic acid, 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-3 and staurosporin markedly enhanced the induction of differentiation of HL-60 cells by TI-79. Nucleoside analogs such as TI-79 should be useful for differentiation therapy of some types of myelogenous leukemia.

Inhibitors of myosin light chain kinase, 1-(5-chloronaphthalene-1-sulfonyl)-1H-hexahydro-1,4-diazepine hydrochloride (ML-9) and 1-(5-iodonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl)-1H-hexahydro-1,4-diazepine hydrochloride (ML-7), induced Nitroblue tetrazolium reducing activity, lysozyme activity and morphological maturation of human monoblastic U937, THP-1 and promyelocytic HL-60 cells, but not of erythroblastic K562 cells. However, three analogs of ML-9, which are an inhibitor and an activator of protein kinase C, and a calmodulin antagonist, respectively, did not induce differentiation of the cells.

The K562/VCR cell line, exhibiting acquired multidrug resistance (MDR) with increased expression of a cell surface glycoprotein (P-glycoprotein), was isolated from human erythroleukemia K562 cells. Various compounds that induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells were tested for their effects on growth and differentiation of these K562/VCR cells. Sodium butyrate, hemin, 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine, and erythroid differentiation factor (EDF) induced erythroid differentiation of K562/VCR cells as well as K562 cells. The MDR of K562/VCR cells was partly overcome by treatment with EDF but not with the other inducers. Expression of P-glycoprotein by K562/VCR cells was measured by radioimmunoassay using MRK16 monoclonal antibody. Results showed that EDF caused down-regulation of P-glycoprotein in K562/VCR cells, whereas the other inducers did not cause its down-regulation. Thus, in addition to inducing erythroid differentiation, EDF enhanced the sensitivity of K562/VCR cells to multidrugs and suppressed expression of P-glycoprotein. These results suggest that differentiation inducers may be useful in chemotherapy of leukemic MDR cells.

Differentiation-stimulating factor (D factor)/leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and IL-6 are reported to be cytokines having multifaced functions including the induction of differentiation in mouse myeloid leukemia M1 cells. We here report that both D factor/LIF and IL-6 inhibit the differentiation of mouse teratocarcinoma F9 cells induced by retinoic acid alone or combined with dibutyryl cAMP. From the microscopic observation as well as Northern blot analysis using cDNA probes encoding several marker proteins for differentiation of F9 cells, we concluded that D factor/LIF and IL-6 are functionally closely related in the induction of differentiation in M1 cells and in the inhibition of F9 differentiation.

The interaction of colony-stimulating factors (CSF) and retinoic acid (RA) in the proliferation and differentiation of HL-60 cells was examined. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) stimulated the proliferation of HL-60 cells in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations of 0.01-100 ng/ml; however, the proliferation due to GM-CSF was suppressed by 100 nM RA. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) slightly stimulated the proliferation of HL-60 cells at concentrations above 10 ng/ml. Neither G-CSF nor GM-CSF alone induced 12-o-tetra-decanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA)- or N-formyl-methionyl-phenylalanine (FMLP)-stimulated nitro-blue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction at concentrations of 0.01-100 ng/ml. G-CSF induced TPA- and FMLP-stimulated NBT reduction in the presence of 100 nM RA, but GM-CSF induced only TPA-stimulated NBT reduction. RA in addition to G-CSF synergistically increased FMLP binding to HL-60 cells, accompanied by increased NBT reduction in response to FMLP. RA in addition to GM-CSF markedly increased FMLP binding to HL-60 cells more than that induced by RA alone, but the combined treatment with RA and GM-CSF did not increase FMLP-stimulated NBT reduction more than that induced by RA alone. The results suggest that G-CSF stimulates RA-induced morphological and functional differentiation of HL-60 cells, but the differentiation-enhancing effects of GM-CSF are limited, whereas the growth-stimulating effect of GM-CSF on HL-60 cells is greater than that of G-CSF.

The activities of protein tyrosine kinase and phosphatidylinositol turnover have been found to be associated with cell growth and differentiation. We examined the effects of some inhibitors for these biochemical activities in human myelogenous leukemia cells. Genistein, which is known to inhibit the activities of protein tyrosine kinase, phosphatidylinositol turnover and topoisomerase II, induced nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction and lysozyme activity in ML-1, HL-60 and U937 cells. Morphological studies showed that genistein-induced differentiation of myeloblastic ML-1 cells into promyelocytes and of promyelocytic HL-60 cells into mature granulocytes. The differentiation-inducing effect of genistein was augmented by addition of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3) or retinoic acid, VD3 being more effective than retinoic acid. Methyl 2,5-dihydroxycinamate, a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, had only a weak effect in inducing differentiation of ML-1 cells. On the other hand, psi-tectorigenin was more effective than genistein in inducing the differentiations of ML-1 and HL-60 cells. Psi-tectorigenin is reported to inhibit phosphatidylinositol turnover without inhibiting protein tyrosine kinase. Thus modulation of phosphatidylinositol turnover might be more important than that of protein tyrosine kinase activity for differentiation of some myelogenous leukemia cells.

We examined the effects of transforming growth factors beta(TGF-beta) alone and in combination with 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3) on human leukemic cell lines (HEL/S, HL-60 and K562). TGF-beta 1 alone at higher concentrations induced monocytic differentiation of HEL/S cells. Combinations of TGF-beta 1 and VD3 synergistically inhibited cell proliferation and induced monocytic differentiation of HEL/S and HL-60 cells. TGF-beta 2 (a subtype of TGF-beta) and erythroid differentiation factor (EDF/Activin A, a member of the TGF-beta gene family) also inhibited growth and induced monocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells in synergy with VD3. Thus combinations of VD3 and TGF-beta (TGF-beta 1, -beta 2, or EDF) acted synergistically in inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing monocytic differentiation of human leukemia cells.

Erythroid differentiation of human leukemic cell lines (HEL, KU812F and K562) was induced by their treatment with transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) or erythroid differentiation factor (EDF/Activin A). Their erythroid differentiation was markedly inhibited by vitamin D3, dexamethasone or 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate, which are known to induce monocytic differentiation of leukemic cells. These results suggest that inducers of monocytic differentiation may switch off cellular regulatory mechanisms for induction by TGF-beta and EDF of erythroid differentiation of leukemia cells.