Studies on the regulation of malignant phenotype and gene expression in human promyelocytic leukemia cell mutant (HL-60-AR)

The present study has investigated the regulation of malignant phenotype and gene expression in a human promyelocytic leukemia cell mutant (HL-60-AR) by means of cellular engineering technique of cybridization between the fusions of the mutant cells with enucleated mouse reticulocytes. Results indicate that the cybrid cells (HL-R) incorporated with reticulocyte cytoplasts become differentiated, and the malignancy is obviously suppressed or reversed to a certain degree when compared with those of parental tumor cells. They lose the growth ability to form colony soft agar medium, become non-tumorigenic under heterotransplantation to nude mice, and are accompanied by decrease in growth rate, cellular mitotic index and DNA synthesis. No gene transcripts or homologous sequence of mRNA corresponding to c-myc oncogene can be detected in cybrid cells by Northern blot technique with cloned c-myc gene probe, suggesting that the expression of originally active c-myc has been inhibited. On the other hand, analysis, by the same molecular hybridization technique with human globin gene probe and by PAGE method, of the expression of globin gene products in cybrid cells detected at the transcription (globin mRNA) and translation (hemoglobin) levels demonstrates consistently that originally inactive human globin gene has been activated to express in passages. These results suggest that some regulatory factors existing in reticulocyte cytoplasm can regulate gene expression and reverse malignant phenotype of leukemia tumor cells.