Long-term culturing of TPA-induced differentiated HL-60 cells results in increased levels of lytic enzymes

Quantitative GPCR and ion channel transcriptomics in primary alveolar macrophages and macrophage surrogates

BACKGROUND

Alveolar macrophages are one of the first lines of defence against invading pathogens and play a central role in modulating both the innate and acquired immune systems. By responding to endogenous stimuli within the lung, alveolar macrophages contribute towards the regulation of the local inflammatory microenvironment, the initiation of wound healing and the pathogenesis of viral and bacterial infections. Despite the availability of protocols for isolating primary alveolar macrophages from the lung these cells remain recalcitrant to expansion in-vitro and therefore surrogate cell types, such as monocyte derived macrophages and phorbol ester-differentiated cell lines (e.g. U937, THP-1, HL60) are frequently used to model macrophage function.

METHODS

The availability of high throughput gene expression technologies for accurate quantification of transcript levels enables the re-evaluation of these surrogate cell types for use as cellular models of the alveolar macrophage. Utilising high-throughput TaqMan arrays and focussing on dynamically regulated families of integral membrane proteins, we explore the similarities and differences in G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) and ion channel expression in alveolar macrophages and their widely used surrogates.

RESULTS

The complete non-sensory GPCR and ion channel transcriptome is described for primary alveolar macrophages and macrophage surrogates. The expression of numerous GPCRs and ion channels whose expression were hitherto not described in human alveolar macrophages are compared across primary macrophages and commonly used macrophage cell models. Several membrane proteins known to have critical roles in regulating macrophage function, including CXCR6, CCR8 and TRPV4, were found to be highly expressed in macrophages but not expressed in PMA-differentiated surrogates.

CONCLUSIONS

The data described in this report provides insight into the appropriate choice of cell models for investigating macrophage biology and highlights the importance of confirming experimental data in primary alveolar macrophages.

A role for serine proteases in mediating phorbol ester-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells

Treatment of human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells with the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) results in increases in proteolytic activity and maturation toward the monocytic lineage. To investigate the potential roles that different classes of proteases play in the monocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells, cells were treated with phorbol ester in the presence of various serine and cysteine protease inhibitors. The serine protease inhibitors 4-(2-aminoethyl)-benzenesulfonyl fluoride (AEBSF), N-alpha-tosyl-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone (TPCK), and N-alpha-tosyl-lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK) repressed a number of phenotypic markers of monocytic differentiation including surface expression of the CD11b integrin, cell aggregate formation, cell cycle exit, and cell death. CD11b was not detected at the cell surface by FACS analysis up to 24 h after induction of differentiation; however, both CD11b mRNA and protein were present. Downregulation of c-myc mRNA and upregulation of c-fos and egr-1 mRNA and protein, which normally occur during TPA-induced differentiation, were not affected by inclusion of the protease inhibitors. These data indicate that serine proteases specifically mediate many of the phenotypic aspects of TPA-induced monocytic differentiation but are not involved with the induction or repression of differentiation-sensitive transcription factors and suggest that serine protease activity is required for intracellular processing of CD11b.

Rabies virus replication in primary murine bone marrow macrophages and in human and murine macrophage-like cell lines: implications for viral persistence

To determine whether rabies viruses replicate in macrophage or macrophage-like cells, several human and murine macrophage-like cell lines, as well as primary cultures of murine bone marrow macrophages, were incubated with the Evelyn-Rokitnicki-Abelseth (ERA) virus and several different street rabies viruses (SRV). ERA rabies virus replicated well in human monocytic U937 and THP-1 cells and murine macrophage IC-21 cells, as well as primary cultures of murine macrophages. Minimal replication was detected in murine monocytic WEHI-3BD- and PU5-1R cells, and ERA virus did not replicate in murine monocytic P388D1 or J774A.1 cells. A tissue culture-adapted SRV of bat origin also replicated in IC-21 and U937 cells. Non-tissue culture-adapted SRV isolated from different animal species, particularly bats, replicated minimally in U937, THP-1, IC-21 cells and primary murine bone marrow macrophages. To determine whether rabies virus replication is dependent upon the state of differentiation of the macrophage-like cell, human promyelocytic HL-60 cells were differentiated with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). ERA rabies virus replicated in the differentiated HL-60 cells but not in undifferentiated HL-60 cells. Persistent infections were established in macrophage-like U937 cells with ERA rabies virus and SRV, and infectious SRV was isolated from adherent bone marrow cells of mice that had been infected 96 days previously. Virus harvested from persistently infected U937 cells and the adherent bone marrow cells had specifically adapted to each cell. This specificity was shown by the inability of the viruses to infect macrophages other than U937 cells and primary bone marrow macrophages, respectively. Virus titers of the persistently infected U937 cells fluctuated with extended cell passage. After 30 passages, virus released from the cells had lost virulence as shown by its inability to kill intracranially inoculated mice. However, the avirulent virus released from the persistently infected cells was more efficient in infecting and replicating in naive U937 cells than the virus which was used to establish the persistent infection. These results suggest that macrophages may serve as reservoirs of infection in vivo, sequestering virus which may subsequently be activated from its persistent state, resulting in clinical infection and death.

A quantitative ultrastructural and cytochemical study of TPA-induced differentiation in HL-60 cells

The effects of the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate on morphometric and stereological parameters have been studied using the HL-60 cell line as a differentiation model for the monocytic pathway. Evaluation of the differentiation was carried out by quantification of endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria and cytoplasmic granules. Changes in both nuclear and cytoplasmic volumes during TPA-induced differentiation led to a decrease of the nucleus-cytoplasmic ratio after 3 days of treatment. Plasma membrane glycoprotein pattern was also determined. The major change in cell surface was the presence of high amounts of glycoproteins containing N-acetyl glucosamine residues that make wheatgerm agglutinin lectin a valuable marker of the monocytic differentiation pathway in HL-60 cells.