Introduction of v-abl oncogene induces monocytic differentiation of an IL-3-dependent myeloid progenitor cell line

There are a variety of murine hematopoietic progenitor cell lines which are differentiation arrested, but still require growth factors such as interleukin-3 for their continued growth and survival. While oncogenes such as v-myc and v-abl have been demonstrated to abrogate the requirement for exogenous growth factors, none have been shown to have an effect on the differentiation of these cell lines. In this report, we demonstrate that the introduction and expression of Abelson murine leukemia virus into a myeloblast progenitor cell line can promote further differentiation along the monocytic lineage. There is a marked alteration in cell morphology, the acquisition of Mac-1 antigen expression, the induction of nonspecific esterase expression and the induced ability to phagocytize opsonized zymosan. Thus, the expression of Abelson murine leukemia virus protein in interleukin-3-dependent hematopoietic progenitors can provide differentiation-inducing signals in cells which are arrested in differentiation. The potential role of Abelson murine leukemia virus gene products in normal hematopoietic cell differentiation and in transformation is discussed.