Sulfur-containing macromolecules in cultured monocyte-like cells

The monocytic cell line U-937 was cultured in vitro in the absence or presence of phorbol myristate acetate, and agent known to induce differentiation of these cells along the monocyte/macrophage lineage. The cells were fixed, prepared for, and subjected to transmission scanning electron microscopy. The intracellular structures of the cells were compared with those of mastocytoma cells. The latter cell type, known to produce heparin, was shown to contain numerous electron dense granules; by X-ray micro-analyses shown to contain significant amounts of sulfur. In contrast, neither control nor PMA-treated U-937 cells contained such granules. Both control and PMA-treated U-937 cells were pulsed with 35S-sulfate for 60 min and chased. The amount of 35S-proteoglycan in the medium of both cell cultures was found to increase in a time-dependent manner, suggesting that these products are destined for release and not intracellular storage under in vitro conditions.