Induction of granulocyte differentiation in a human leukemia cell line does not require cell division

The human promyelocytic cell line, known as HL-60, provides a model for the study of myeloid differentiation. The HL-60 can differentiate to granulocyte-like cells in the presence of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). We investigated the requirement for DNA synthesis in the myeloid differentiation process and found that induction of differentiation of HL-60 cells did not require 3H-thymidine incorporation as judged by autoradiography. The results indicate that the triggering of granulocyte differentiation of HL-60 can occur in the absence of DNA synthesis.