3,5,3'-Triiodothyronine stimulates retinoic acid-induced differentiation in HL-60 cells

The human acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line HL-60 differentiates to functionally mature granulocytes by incubation with all-trans-retinoic acid (RA). Since T3 and RA are important in cell differentiation and development, and since their receptors are highly homological, we investigated the T3 effects on RA-induced HL-60 cell differentiation. Although T3 alone did not induce cell differentiation, RA-mediated differentiation was significantly enhanced in the presence of 10(-7) M T3. This effect of T3 was considered to be mediated, at least in part, by increased intracellular cAMP, since the phosphodiesterase inhibitor enhanced, and the protein kinase A antagonist partially blocked, T3 potentiation. When HL-60 cells were pretreated with RA for 20 h, T3 alone stimulated the cell differentiation. The time-course study showed that incubation with RA for 12 h was necessary for HL-60 cells to be primed to respond to T3 for differentiation. The present finding that T3 potentiates RA-induced HL-60 cell differentiation may raise the possibility that T3 supplement increases clinical remission in APL patients who are treated with RA.