Interaction of two cytoplasmic erythroid differentiation-inducing factors in mouse erythroleukemia cells

Our previous cell fusion experiments have suggested that the in vitro erythroid differentiation of mouse erythroleukemia cells is the result of a synergistic reaction involving two intracellular differentiation-inducing factors (DIF); these were subsequently demonstrated in the cytoplasmic fraction of mouse erythroleukemia cells. Here, we present experimental evidence indicating that, under conditions in which the two factors (DIF-I and DIF-II) are coinduced, a new factor, which can trigger erythroid differentiation upon introduction into undifferentiated mouse erythroleukemia cells, is produced in the cells. A similar factor was also generated in vitro after the incubation of partially purified DIF-I and DIF-II. We found that protein phosphatases could substitute for DIF-II. These and other experiments suggest that protein dephosphorylation at a tyrosine residue(s) is involved in the generation of the new factor.