The DNA-binding drugs mithramycin and chromomycin are powerful inducers of erythroid differentiation of human K562 cells.
The human leukaemic K562 cell line can be induced in vitro to undergo erythroid differentiation by a variety of chemical compounds, including haemin, butyric acid, 5-azacytidine and cytosine arabinoside. Differentiation of K562 cells is associated with an increased expression of embryo-fetal globin genes, such as the zeta, epsilon and gamma globin genes. Therefore the K562 cell line has been proposed as a useful in vitro model system to determine the therapeutic potential of new differentiating compounds as well as to study the molecular mechanism(s) regulating changes in the expression of embryonic and fetal human globin genes. Inducers of erythroid differentiation which stimulate gamma-globin synthesis could be considered for possible use in the experimental therapy of those haematological diseases associated with a failure in the expression of adult beta-globin genes. In this paper we demonstrated that the G + C selective DNA-binding drugs chromomycin and mithramycin were powerful inducers of erythroid differentiation of K562 cells. Erythroid differentiation was associated with an increase in the accumulation of (a) Hb Gower 1 and Hb Portland and (b) gamma-globin mRNA.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Italy.
N
N
Bianchi
F
F
Osti
C
C
Rutigliano
F G
FG
Corradini
E
E
Borsetti
M
M
Tomassetti
C
C
Mischiati
G
G
Feriotto
R
R
Gambari
D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002865:Chromomycins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018983:DNA Footprinting; D003850:Deoxyribonuclease I / Q000378:metabolism; D015672:Erythroid Precursor Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D005914:Globins / Q000378:metabolism; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020014:K562 Cells; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019384:Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008926:Plicamycin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods
D002865:Chromomycins; D006454:Hemoglobins; D019384:Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors; D005914:Globins; D003850:Deoxyribonuclease I; D008926:Plicamycin