Effects of hemin on a lymphoblastoid cell line that expresses the human epsilon- and gamma-globin genes

Northern blot analysis using probes specific for each of the human embryonic (epsilon), fetal (gamma), and adult (beta) globin genes indicates that the human lymphoblastoid F-265 cells express the embryonic and fetal globin genes. Unlike the erythroid cell line K562, in which globin RNA levels increase during treatment with hemin in culture, globin RNA levels decrease in F-265 cells in the presence of hemin. This effect is reversible after passage of F-265 cells in fresh medium without hemin. Both the rates of globin RNA synthesis and the presence of DNase I-hypersensitive sites in hemin treated and untreated F-265 cells were investigated to identify the levels at which globin gene expression is controlled.