Thermal stress as an inducer of differentiation of U937 cells

The individual and combined effects of heat shock, all-trans retinoic acid and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on inhibition of cell growth and initiation of differentiation were investigated on U937 human leukemia cells. Incubation of U937 cells at 43 degrees C for 1 h did not affect cell viability but induced a reduction of cell growth and the emergence of a differentiated phenotype, characterized by the acquisition of chemiluminescent responses to various oxidative burst inducers and by the capacity to produce IL-6 in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide. Heat shock alone, therefore, appears to be an efficient inducer of cell differentiation. In addition, heat shock primed the cells to respond more efficiently to the action of retinoic acid and vitamin D, and amplified the phenotypic changes initiated by pretreatment of U937 cells with these agents.