[Appearance of glutamate receptors on the surface of HL-60 cells upon differentiation]

A specific interaction of L-glutamic acid with promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells completely differentiated by all-E-retinoic acid (Kd = 0.5 microM) and by plasma membrane fraction from the same cells (Kd = 1 microM) was detected through radioligand analysis and characterized. Quisqualate, a nonlabeled structural analogue of glutamic acid, was found to inhibit competitively the specific binding of L-[3H]glutamic acid to the membranes (Ki = 0.24 microM). The stereospecificity of the binding was demonstrated. These data suggest that specific glutamate receptors appear on the surface of HL-60 cells during their differentiation.