Regulation and specificity of MNDA expression in monocytes, macrophages, and leukemia/B lymphoma cell lines

The expression of the human myeloid cell nuclear differentiation antigen (MNDA) was observed specifically in cells of the granulocyte-macrophage lineage in our earlier reports. The specificity of MNDA expression for cells in the granulocyte-macrophage lineage was reexamined in cell lines established from patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia. Cell lines that expressed MNDA exhibited myeloid cell features and granulocyte or monocyte differentiation could be induced in vitro, while cell lines exhibiting properties of very early stage cells or multipotential cells did not express MNDA. Cells originating from cases of Burkitt's lymphoma were negative. By contrast, three lymphoblastoid cell lines (immortalized in vitro with Epstein-Barr virus) were weakly positive and MNDA was up-regulated by interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) treatment. As we reported previously, MNDA mRNA level in adherent monocytes is elevated by IFN-alpha; in this study, we further assessed MNDA expression in in vitro monocyte-derived macrophages. Three additional agents (endotoxin, phytohemagglutinin, and phorbol ester) and other conditions that affect function, cytokine production, differentiation, and/or growth of monocytes were examined for their ability to alter MNDA expression. The results varied with the agent, cell type, and stage of differentiation. Changes in MNDA expression occurred slowly (hours to days), suggesting that MNDA could mediate changes realized over a long period. The results also reveal a discordance in certain MNDA positive cells between steady-state levels or changes in levels of protein and mRNA indicating that the regulation of MNDA expression occurs at more than one point. Changes in MNDA expression are consistent with a role in opposing macrophage differentiation and activation of monocytes/macrophages.