INDUCTION OF ERYTHROPOIETIC COLONIES IN A HUMAN CHRONIC MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA-CELL LINE

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  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 54  (5) , 1182-1187
Abstract
The ability of cells derived from the K562 cell line to generate erythropoietic colonies was studied. The K562 cell line was derived from a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia 8 yr ago by Lozzio and Lozzio. Rare benzidine-positive colonies formed when these cells were cloned in plasma clots (3 .+-. 1/104 cells), and their number was not substantially increased by the addition of erythropoietin (9.5 .+-. 1/104 cells). Sodium butyrate was capable of markedly enhancing the number of benzidine-positive colonies (19.5 .+-. 1/104 cells) formed, while the combination of sodium butyrate plus erythropoietin exerted a synergistic effect on erythropoietic colony formation (57 .+-. 4/104 cells). The K562 cell line is a long-term culture system that contains human erythropoietic stem cells. This cell line should be useful in future studies on the cellular and molecular events associated with human erythroid cell differentiation.