Ganglioside GM3: an acidic membrane component that increases during macrophage-like cell differentiation can induce monocytic differentiation of human myeloid and monocytoid leukemic cell lines HL-60 and U937

When human myeloid and monocytoid leukemic cell lines HL-60 and U937, respectively, were treated with an exogenous sialoglycosphingolipid, ganglioside GM3, in serum-free medium, cell growth was markedly inhibited, and their morphological maturation along a monocytic lineage was observed. In addition to a significant increase in phagocytic and nonspecific esterase activities, marked increase of monocyte-specific surface antigens detectable with monoclonal antibodies such as OKM1 and OKM5 was observed in GM3-fed cells. Other sialoglycosphingolipids with the carbohydrate structure belonging to ganglio-series oligosaccharide, ganglioside GM1 and a brain ganglioside mixture, had no effect on the cell differentiation, showing instead stimulatory actions on the growth of these cell lines. We recently demonstrated that the ganglio-series ganglioside GM3 characteristically increased during macrophage-like cell differentiation of these cell lines. The present results indicate that ganglioside molecular species that specifically increase during monocytic cell differentiation of human myeloid and monocytoid leukemic cell lines may play, in turn, an important role in the differentiation-induction of these cell lines along a monocytic cell lineage.

Changes in glycosphingolipid composition during differentiation of human leukemic granulocytes in chronic myelogenous leukemia compared with in vitro granulocytic differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60

Changes in glycosphingolipid (GSL) composition during differentiation of human leukemic granulocytes were investigated qualitatively and quantitatively in immature and mature granulocytic cells derived from human chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cases and were compared with those found in the in vitro granulocytic differentiation of the human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cell line. Two neutral GSLs, ceramide monohexoside and ceramide dihexoside, and two molecular species of gangliosides, one being the ganglio-series ganglioside NeuAc(alpha 2-3)Gal(beta 1-4)Glc-Cer (GM3) and the other being the lacto-series sialosylparagloboside, were predominant in the granulocytic cells at an early maturation stage. During the granulocytic differentiation of CML cells, the contents of ceramide dihexoside and paragloboside increased strikingly with a concomitant decrease in ceramide monohexoside, and the total amount of neutral GSLs increased to about three times as much as that of the most immature granulocytic cells, myeloblasts. On the other hand, lacto-series gangliosides, with longer sugar moieties increased with a concomitant decrease in ganglio-series ganglioside GM3, and the ganglioside profile became more complex. The total content of ganglioside increased in parallel with the complexity of the ganglioside profile. Similar differentiation-associated changes were also found in GSL composition during the in vitro granulocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells. However, a marked difference between the differentiation-dependent change in the GSL composition of CML cells and that of HL-60 cells was observed for a ganglioside species which was found to be one of the major gangliosides in normal neutrophils: in the former, the ganglioside level increased up to the level in normal mature granulocytes as the cells differentiated; in contrast, it decreased significantly during granulocytic differentiation of the latter cells. When the GSL composition of the neutrophils obtained from CML cells, which were apparently normal as to morphology, stimulus-induced membrane potential changes, and superoxide-producing capacity, was compared with that of normal neutrophils, an obvious difference was observed between them, especially with regard to ganglioside GM3; the amount of ganglioside GM3 in the former was about one-sixth of that in the latter. This finding indicates some alterations in the cell membrane structure of neutrophils of CML origin.

An acidic glycosphingolipid, monosialo-ganglioside GM3, is a potent physiological inducer for monocytic differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60 cells

A remarkable increase in monosialo-ganglioside GM3 was observed during the monocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells induced by 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate(TPA). On the other hand, when the cells were cultured with exogenously-added ganglioside GM3 in serum-free conditions, their differentiation along a monocytic lineage was demonstrated with simultaneous complete growth inhibition. Other gangliosides such as ganglioside GM1 showed no effects on cell differentiation, exhibiting instead stimulatory actions on the cell growth. These results indicate that a physiologically-existent, membranous ganglioside GM3, which specifically increases during monocytic cell differentiation, might play a primary role as a trigger in the monocytic cell differentiation.

In situ hybridization of the vasopressin mRNA in the rat hypothalamus by use of a synthetic oligonucleotide probe

A 22mer oligonucleotide complementary to the rat vasopressin (AVP) mRNA was synthesized, radioactively labeled with 32P, and was applied to in situ hybridization with the mRNA on paraffin sections of the rat hypothalamus. The AVP mRNA in magnocellular neurosecretory neurons of the paraventricular and the supraoptic nuclei was demonstrated by use of this synthetic probe. Specificity of the autoradiographic signals was confirmed by a competition test using an excess amount of unlabeled probe and an absorption test using a synthetic template of the probe. Further, the mRNA of vasotocin, the ancestral molecule of AVP, was hybridized weakly with the probe, showing that the present probe can discriminate a few base substitutions. Autoradiographic signals representing hybrids of the probe and the AVP mRNA were rarely found in the region rich in oxytocin neurons whose mRNA is homologous to the AVP mRNA. These results show that the in situ hybridization method using synthetic oligonucleotide probes can be a powerful and specific tool for the study of gene expression in the central nervous system.

Characteristic expression of glycosphingolipid profiles in the bipotential cell differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60

Changes of glycosphingolipids (GSLs) in the bipotential cell differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60 cells were investigated by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), with special reference to morphological and functional changes, such as phagocytosis and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction. Nine molecular species of neutral GSLs and 13 or more species of sialo-GSLs, ie, gangliosides, were detected on the HPTLC chromatograms for untreated HL-60 cells. The major components were ceramide dihexoside (CDH), GM3, and sialo-paragloboside (SPG). When HL-60 cells were induced to differentiate into both myeloid mature cells and macrophage-like cells in vitro, no new molecular species of GSLs specific for one of the cell differentiations was induced, but distinctive quantitative changes in the GSL composition were definitely observed between the two cell differentiations. During the myeloid differentiation induced by either dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) or retinoic acid (RA), CDH, paragloboside (PG), and gangliosides having longer sugar moieties characteristically increased with a concomitant decrease of GSLs with shorter sugar chains, such as ceramide monohexoside (CMH) and GM3, and the GSL composition profile of myeloid differentiation-induced HL-60 cells became more similar to that of normal human granulocytes. However, some marked differences were noted between the induced HL-60 cells and the normal granulocytes, especially in the ganglioside compositions. These differences might reflect either some deficiency in the in vitro myeloid differentiation or some leukemic properties of HL-60 cells. In marked contrast to the change of GSL composition during myeloid differentiation, a remarkable increase of GM3, with a concurrent marked decrease of CDH, was observed in the process of cell differentiation into macrophage-like cells with 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), which suggested an increase in the biosynthesis of GM3. These results demonstrate that HL-60 cells express distinct GSL profiles, depending not only on maturation stages but also on differentiation directions.

Functional maturation of membrane potential changes and superoxide-producing capacity during differentiation of human granulocytes

The alterations of stimulus-induced membrane potential changes, superoxide (O2-)-producing capacity and phagocytic activity during differentiation of human granulocytes were investigated in the human leukemia cell lines HL-60 and KG-1 differentiating in vitro and in human leukemic granulocytes obtained from chronic myelogenous leukemia patients. HL-60 cells incubated with dimethyl sulfoxide or with retinoic acid showed progressively increasing O2- production as well as membrane potential changes (depolarization) on contact with phorbol myristate acetate or the chemotactic peptide N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, with a concomitant increase in the proportion of mature cells of the granulocytic type. Phagocytosis of latex particles, yeast, and oil droplets appeared 24 h after incubation with dimethyl sulfoxide and anteceded the increment of O2- production and membrane potential changes, both of which appeared concomitantly 3 d after incubation with dimethyl sulfoxide. Similar findings were observed when immature and mature granulocytes obtained from chronic myelogenous leukemia patients were stimulated by phorbol ester, the chemotactic peptide, or calcium ionophore A23187, and the amount of O2- production was parallel to the magnitude of membrane potential changes. HL-60 and KG-1 cells incubated for 1-6 d with phorbol myristate acetate showed neither O2- production nor membrane potential changes on contact with phorbol ester, chemotactic peptide, or A23187, although such cells resembled macrophages morphologically, and their phagocytic activity was significantly increased. O2- production and membrane potential changes in normal granulocytes induced by phorbol ester, chemotactic peptide and A23187 were inhibited by 2-deoxyglucose. These findings indicate that the O2--producing system and the system provoking membrane potential changes may develop concomitantly as human granulocytes mature and differentiate, and that the development of these systems and of phagocytic activity may be independently regulated.