The role of the phorbol ester receptor/protein kinase C in the sensitivity of leukemic cells to anthracyclines

The phorbol ester receptor (PER), which is believed to be identical to protein kinase C (PKC), has been implicated in the control of the sensitivities of tumor cells to certain forms of cancer chemotherapy. We evaluated the effects of regulating the expression of PER/PKC on the sensitivity of the R1B6 subclone of HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemic cells to anthracyclines. This cell line is resistant to the effects of phorbol esters on cellular differentiation by virtue of a down-regulated PER. R1B6 cells were maintained in phorbol 12, 13 dibutyric acid (PDBu). Twenty four to thirty six hours after removal of PDBu from the medium there was a 3-fold increase in the number of receptors compared to baseline values measured by [3H]-PDBu binding and a marked increase in the activity of PKC as measured by calcium-phospholipid dependent incorporation of [32P] into histone. Despite these changes in the number of PER and in the activity of PKC there was no difference in the cellular accumulation of [3H]-daunomycin or in the sensitivity of cells to the toxic effects of doxorubicin. Furthermore, there was no difference between the R1B6 cells and the parental HL-60 line in their intrinsic sensitivities to doxorubicin. These studies demonstrate that alterations in the expression of PER and the activity of PKC alone are not sufficient to influence anthracycline accumulation or toxicity in R1B6 human leukemic cells in contrast to recently reported results using other cell lines.     

Decreased phorbol ester receptor and protein kinase C in P388 murine leukemic cells resistant to etoposide

A variant P388 murine leukemic cell resistant to 4'-demethylepipodophyllotoxin-9-(4,6-O-ethylidene)-beta-D-glucopyr anoside (etoposide) (VP-16-213) was cloned. The variant P388/VP-16 cell line was 159-fold resistant to 4'-demethylepipodophyllotoxin-9-(4,6-O-ethylidene)-beta-D- glucopyranoside and showed cross-resistance to vincristine (18.9-fold) and Adriamycin (522.9-fold), determined by comparing the 50% inhibitory concentrations in a 48-h growth inhibition assay. To identify the possible role of Ca2+-phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C) in this drug resistance, we studied the specific phorbol ester binding component and protein kinase C in the parent and drug-resistant sublines of P388 cells. The phorbol ester receptor, as expressed by the numbers of sites per cell, significantly decreased in P388/VP-16 (57.6% of control). Scatchard analysis revealed that the variant contained a single class of binding sites. However, no difference was observed in the dissociation constants (Kd), thereby suggesting much the same affinity of receptors between the two lines. Phorbol diester analogues inhibited [20-3H]phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate binding of both the variant and control cell lines, in a stereospecific manner and consistent with their binding potency. The activity of protein kinase C, which is related to the phorbol ester receptor, significantly decreased in the variant cell. The enzyme activity, particularly in the membrane fraction of P388/VP-16 cells, was remarkably decreased. These data suggest that the decrease in the specific phorbol diester receptor and protein kinase C in the variant cells might correlate with the pleiotropic drug resistance.     

Inhibition by bryostatin 1 of the phorbol ester-induced blockage of differentiation in hexamethylene bisacetamide-treated Friend erythroleukemia cells

Phorbol esters inhibit chemically induced differentiation in Friend erythroleukemia cells. This study examines the effect of the macrocyclic lactone bryostatin 1 on phorbol ester responses in a Friend erythroleukemia cell clone, PS 7. In several biological systems, bryostatin 1 was reported to mimic phorbol ester action, including activation of protein kinase C, but in HL-60 cells it blocked phorbol ester-induced differentiation. We report here that bryostatin 1 blocks phorbol ester action in Friend cells (clone PS 7), a second differentiating system. In this system, in contrast to HL-60 cells, the phorbol esters inhibit rather than induce differentiation. Bryostatin 1 restores the differentiation response [50% effective dose, 15 +/- 3.5 nM (SEM)] as well as blocks a second phorbol ester effect, induction of cellular adherence. The inhibition of erythroid differentiation by dexamethasone, a nonphorbol compound whose action presumably is not protein kinase C mediated, is unaffected by bryostatin 1. Although bryostatin 1 inhibits [3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate binding in intact Friend erythroleukemia cell clone PS 7, the mechanism for the antagonism of phorbol ester action by bryostatin 1 in Friend cells cannot be explained by simple competition at the binding site.     

Role of protein kinase C in phosphorylation of vinculin in adriamycin-resistant HL-60 leukemia cells

In response to phorbol esters such as 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), HL-60 cells differentiate to macrophage-like cells and exhibit the ability to phosphorylate vinculin in vitro. Adriamycin-resistant HL-60 (HL-60/ADR) cells similarly demonstrate this characteristic without prior treatment with TPA. Since protein kinase C (PK-C) is a cellular TPA receptor, we have examined the role of this enzyme in the inherent ability of HL-60/ADR cells to phosphorylate vinculin. DEAE-cellulose chromatography of cell extracts revealed that HL-60/ADR cells contained 2-fold more PK-C than did the parental cell line. All PK-C activity was found in the cytosol of wild type HL-60 cells, whereas 85% of PK-C activity was cytosolic and 15% was membrane-bound in HL-60/ADR cells. After a 2-day treatment with 10 nM TPA, PK-C activity was reduced 80-90% in both cell lines regardless of its intracellular distribution. Immunoblotting of cell extracts from HL-60/ADR cells or HL-60 cells following treatment with TPA revealed increased levels of a 52-kDa species of similar mass to M-kinase. Coincident with these changes after TPA treatment was a reduction in Ca2+ and phospholipid-independent phosphorylation of vinculin in vitro in extracts from HL-60/ADR cells, whereas HL-60 cells exhibited an elevation of this phosphoprotein. The phosphorylation of vinculin in TPA-treated HL-60 cells or untreated HL-60/ADR cells was blocked by antibodies to protein kinase C. These results suggest that it is not the absolute level of protein kinase C but rather the proteolytic activation of PK-C to a Ca2+ and phospholipid-independent form which is associated with the utilization of vinculin as an endogenous substrate.     

Mimicry of bryostatin 1 induced phosphorylation patterns in HL-60 cells by high-phorbol ester concentrations

The bryostatins are a group of macrocyclic lactones isolated from the marine bryozoan Bugula neritina. Bryostatin 1, like the phorbol esters, activates protein kinase C; however, it partially inhibits the phorbol ester induced differentiation of the human promyelocytic leukemic cell line HL-60. We compared the phosphorylation response in HL-60 cells treated with phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate or bryostatin 1. Bryostatin 1 enhanced the phosphorylation of the same proteins as did typical concentrations (10(-8)-10(-9) M) of phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate. In addition, bryostatin 1 caused the appearance of 2 phosphorylated protein spots with molecular weights of 70,000 and pIs of 6.3-6.4. These latter phosphorylations were evident after a 30-min exposure to bryostatin 1 at 6 nM. Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate concentrations of at least 600 nM, approximately 100-fold that necessary to induce differentiation, also induced the appearance of these phosphoprotein spots. The Mr 70,000 phosphoproteins were located in the ionic detergent-soluble cellular fraction which would contain the cytoskeletal proteins. Their phosphorylation was almost totally on serine residues. We speculate that phorbol esters at very high concentrations may more closely resemble bryostatin 1.     

Contrasting duration of inhibition of cell-cell communication in primary mouse epidermal cells by phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate and by bryostatin 1

The bryostatins, macrocyclic lactones isolated on the basis of their antineoplastic activity, activate protein kinase C in vitro and inhibit phorbol ester binding to the enzyme. In intact cells, the bryostatins induce some phorbol ester responses, such as neutrophil activation, but paradoxically they not only fail to induce other responses, e.g., differentiation in HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells, but actually block response to the phorbol esters. We compare here bryostatin I and phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate as inhibitors of cell-cell communication in cultured primary mouse epidermal cells. Like phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate, bryostatin I at nanomolar concentrations markedly inhibited cell coupling. It differed from the phorbol esters, however, in that its action was more transient. By 4 h of incubation bryostatin 1 caused little inhibition of coupling. Moreover, coincubation of bryostatin 1 and phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate gave no greater response at this time than that found for bryostatin 1 alone. Time-dependent inhibition of the protein kinase C pathway could account for many of the observed differences between the actions of the phorbol esters and bryostatin 1.     

Analysis of human promyelocytic leukemia cell (HL60) variants insensitive to phorbol ester tumor promoters

The cells of the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line (HL60) stop growing and differentiate into macrophage-like cells when exposed to nM concentrations of the phorbol ester tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). By exposing cells to the frameshift mutagen ICR-191 and subsequently selecting for resistance to the differentiating effects of nM amounts of TPA, we have isolated TPA-insensitive variants. These variants can grow in up to 320 nM TPA concentrations and do not differentiate into morphologically or functionally mature macrophages. The number of phorbol ester receptors, their affinity for phorbol dibutyrate, and the regulation of receptors are the same as for wild-type HL60 cells. As the resistance to TPA increases in the variants, so does the number of cells with increased ploidy. Wild-type HL60 cells are nearly 100% hypodiploid with a modal chromosome number of 43, while a partially TPA-resistant variant (DM30) has 30% hyperdiploid cells with a mean chromosomal number of 70, and a completely resistant variant (DM90) is 93% hyperdiploid averaging 74 chromosomes/cell. The variants differentiate into neutrophils in response to dimethyl sulfoxide but are defective in respiratory burst activity as assayed by the reduction of the dye nitroblue tetrazolium. These variants could be useful in determining the mode of action of TPA in the promotion of tumors.     

Protein kinase C activities with different characteristics, including substrate specificity, from two human HL-60 leukemia cell variants

To evaluate the role of protein kinase C in the cellular maturation processes induced by phorbol diesters, we examined the biochemical activity of protein kinase C from HL-205, a cell variant from the human promyelocytic HL-60 leukemia that is susceptible to differentiation induced by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, and from HL-525, an HL-60 variant that is resistant to such an induction. The activities of protein kinase C from the two cell types differed in their requirements for the cofactors Ca2+ and lipids. These enzyme activities also differed in their abilities to phosphorylate protamine and a series of four oligopeptides. We suggest that the differences in vitro in the activities of protein kinase C between HL-205 and HL-525 cells, especially in their substrate specificity, are closely related to the different phosphorylation patterns induced in vivo by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate in these cells. We also suggest that these differences may be responsible for the different susceptibilities of the two cell types to maturation induced by phorbol diesters.     

A variant of the HL-60 cell line expressing a high level of PTP1C exhibits increased susceptibility to differentiation by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate

A variant of the HL-60 cell line, HL-60/MCSFR4D2, has been found to express twice the amount of PTP1C as compared to the parental HL-60 cell line by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation. Differentiation of the variant cells after phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) treatment was examined by the appearance of adherence. In 1% fetal calf serum (FCS), 20% of HL-60/MCSFR4D2 cells exhibited adherence after treatment with 0.5 ng/ml PMA for 48 h, 60% exhibited adherence after treatment with 1.0 ng/ml PMA and 80% exhibited adherence after treatment with 5.0 ng/ml PMA, while HL-60 cells exhibited only a slight response. Furthermore, antisense PTP1C oligonucleotides decreased the PMA-induced adherence of HL-60/MCSFR4D2 cells. These results suggest that the high-expression of PTP1C in HL-60 cells may be involved in the enhancement of susceptibility to macrophage-like differentiation by PMA.     

Effect of retinoic acid on phorbol ester-stimulated differentiation and protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation in the U937 human monoblastoid cell

Phorbol esters stimulate differentiation of certain human leukemic cell lines. Although activation of protein kinase C may mediate certain effects of phorbol esters, controversy exists as to the role of protein kinase C activation in phorbol ester-induced differentiation. Retinoic acid modulates responses to phorbol esters in several cell types. Retinoic acid has also been found to alter protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation in leukemic cells. We correlated the effects of retinoic acid on protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation and differentiation stimulated by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), a phorbol ester, in the human monoblastoid U937 cell line. At concentrations less than 1 nM, which were 100-fold less than those directly stimulating differentiation, retinoic acid potentiated TPA-induced differentiation of the U937 cell as assessed by enhanced adherence to plastic and acquisition of nonspecific esterase activity. TPA-stimulated decreases in cellular proliferation were not affected by retinoic acid treatment. Without altering the sensitivity to TPA, retinoic acid increased the maximal response to this agent. Retinoic acid enhanced TPA-stimulated phosphorylation of a Mr 48,000 substrate in intact 32P-labeled U937 cells and also increased the protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation of a similar Mr 48,000 substrate and a Mr 80,000 substrate in cellular extracts. In cellular extracts the retinoic acid-induced enhancement of protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation was predominantly localized to the cytosolic fraction. Increases in protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation were evident within a 12-h exposure to 1 nM retinoic acid and were observed at retinoic concentrations of 0.01 to 1 nM. A retinoic acid-induced increase in the protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation of an exogenous substrate, histone, was observed following diethylaminoethyl extraction of cytosol, but not a solubilized particulate fraction. The conditions of retinoic acid treatment increasing protein kinase C activity and enhancing protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation of endogenous substrates were similar to those conditions potentiating phorbol ester-induced differentiation. Thus, the retinoic acid-induced amplification of phorbol ester signal transduction at the level of protein kinase C activation could mediate the effects of this vitamin on phorbol ester-induced differentiation.     

Evidence for separate control by phorbol esters of CD18-dependent adhesion and translocation of protein kinase C in U-937 cells

Treatment of U-937 GTB cells with tumor-promoting phorbol esters induced adherence of the cells to plastic, with a t1/2 of 20 min. The ED50 was determined to 3.3 nM for phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate and 0.3 nM for 12-O-tetradecanoyl-4 beta-phorbol-13-acetate, whereas the non-tumor-promoting analogue 12-O-tetradecanoyl-4 alpha-phorbol-13-acetate was ineffective at concentrations up to 100 nM. The adherence process showed characteristics typical of leucocyte adhesion and was inhibited by a monoclonal antibody to the leucocyte adhesion molecule CD18. The sublines of U-937, RES and RESREV made resistant to the action of low doses of phorbol ester regarding inhibition of DNA synthesis and containing lower levels of protein kinase C compared to U-937 GTB, were desensitized with respect to the adhesion response. Translocation of protein kinase C from cytosol to the particulate fraction occurred at about 10-fold higher concentrations of phorbol ester than the adhesion response in U-937 GTB cells, under otherwise similar conditions, whereas no difference in sensitivity was observed between the sublines. Also phorbol ester stimulation of choline incorporation into lipids exhibited lower sensitivity compared to the adhesion response with no difference observed between the various cell lines. The results indicate that CD18-dependent adhesion, like DNA synthesis, is controlled by phorbol esters in a manner unrelated to the translocation of protein kinase C and that the control mechanism might involve forms of protein kinase C which are subject to stable down-modulation following TPA adaption of the cells.     

Eyes wide shut: protein kinase C isozymes are not the only receptors for the phorbol ester tumor promoters

In addition to the well-characterized interaction with classical and novel protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes, the phorbol ester tumor promoters bind to other receptors lacking kinase activity. Among these novel phorbol ester receptors, two families of proteins may play a role in the regulation of cell growth and malignant transformation: chimaerins and ras guanyl-releasing protein (ras-GRP). These proteins possess a single copy of the C1 domain that is involved in binding of phorbol esters and the lipid second messenger diacylglycerol. Four isoforms of chimaerins (alpha1-, alpha2-, beta1-, and beta2-chimaerins) have been isolated to-date, all of them possessing GTPase-activating protein activity for Rac, a small GTP-binding protein that controls actin cytoskeleton organization, cell-cycle progression, adhesion, and migration. Ras-GRP is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for ras and promotes malignant transformation in fibroblasts in a phorbol ester-dependent manner. The C1 domain in Ras-GRP may, therefore, have a dominant role in Ras-GRP activation and is essential for phorbol ester-dependent activation of downstream effectors of ras, i.e., the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. Thus, a novel concept emerges in which phorbol esters may exert cellular responses through pathways not involving phorbol ester-responsive PKC isozymes. The discovery of "nonPKC" phorbol ester receptors adds an additional level of complexity to the understanding of phorbol ester effects and the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis.     

Decreased expression of type II protein kinase C in HL-60 variant cells resistant to induction of cell differentiation by phorbol diester

To evaluate the molecular basis for susceptibility of the cell differentiation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), we examined biochemical activities and expression of subspecies of protein kinase C from HL-60 cells that are susceptible to differentiation induced by TPA and HL-60R cells, HL-60 variant cells that are resistant to such induction. Analysis of the subcellular distribution of protein kinase C revealed that the activity of this kinase in the cytosol from HL-60R cells was 30% of that from parental HL-60 cells but that the enzyme activities in the membrane showed similar values in these cells. Treatment of HL-60 cells with 100 nM TPA for 30 min resulted in a 75% decrease in protein kinase C activity in the cytosol and a 300% increase in this activity in the membrane. A minor subcellular redistribution of the enzyme activity was found in HL-60R cells after TPA treatment. Based on analysis of protein kinase C isozymes by hydroxyapatite column chromatography, the relative activities of types I, II, and III in the cytosol of HL-60 cells were 11, 80, and 9%, whereas those in HL-60R cells were 27, 36, and 37%, respectively. Type II isozyme was a major protein kinase C in the cytosol of HL-60 cells, but type II was less in the HL-60R cells. Among the three isozymes, type II enzyme was most sensitive to TPA with histone H1 as the substrate, although all three isozymes were activated Ca2+-dependently in the presence of phosphatidylserine. We suggest that the acquired resistance of HL-60R cells toward induction of cell differentiation by TPA may be associated with a decrease in the expression of the type II isozyme of protein kinase C.     

Inhibition of chemotactic peptide-induced phosphoinositide hydrolysis by phorbol esters through the activation of protein kinase C in differentiated human leukemia (HL-60) cells

Phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBU), a tumor-promoting and protein kinase C-activating phorbol ester, inhibited formylmethionylleucyl-phenylalanine-induced generation of inositol mono-, bis-, and tris-phosphates from the hydrolysis of phosphoinositides in human leukemia (HL-60) cells, which had been differentiated to polymorphonuclear leukocyte-like cells by pretreatment with dibutyryl cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate. PDBU did not alter the binding of formylmethionylleucyl-phenylalanine to the cells. Other protein kinase C-activating substances such as 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate and 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-glycerol could substitute for PDBU, but 4 alpha-phorbol-12,13-didecanoate, which is inactive for both tumor promotion and protein kinase C activation, was ineffective in this capacity. Prolonged treatment of the cells with PDBU resulted in the down-regulation and decrease of protein kinase C activity to the level of 30-40% of that in the control cells. In the down-regulated cells, formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine still induced generation of the phosphorylated inositols to the same extent as that in the control cells, but the inhibition of this reaction by PDBU was reduced to 30-50% as compared with that in the control cells. These results strongly suggest that tumor-promoting phorbol esters inhibit the agonist-induced phosphoinositide hydrolysis through the activation of protein kinase C in the differentiated HL-60 cells.     

Substrates for protein kinase C in cytosol of EL4 mouse thymoma cells

Phorbol esters trigger production of interleukin 2 by EL4 thymoma cells via an interaction with specific receptors, now considered to be identical with protein kinase C. Several in vitro substrates for protein kinase C were characterized by incubating cytosol from phorbol ester-responsive and -nonresponsive cells with [32P]adenosine triphosphate and CaCl2 with or without phosphatidylserine and diolein and separating proteins by gel electrophoresis. Phosphorylation of these proteins was calcium dependent in the range of 1-100 microM and stimulated by 10-150 micrograms of phosphatidylserine per ml. Calcium concentrations above 500 microM inhibited 32P incorporation and decreased phospholipid stimulation. Phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate stimulated phosphorylation of these proteins, with a maximal concentration of 10 nM, providing strong evidence that these are protein kinase C substrates. The substrates for protein kinase C coeluted with the enzyme after binding to a phosphatidylserine affinity column in a calcium-dependent manner. Molecular weights of the protein kinase C substrates in sensitive cell cytosol were approximately 92,000, 84,000, 70,000, 67,000, 53,000, 45,000, 40,000, 36,000, and 20,000. A similar EL4 line which has phorbol ester receptors and protein kinase C, but does not produce interleukin 2 in response to phorbol esters, lacked the Mr 45,000 substrate and often also lacked the Mr 40,000 and 36,000 substrates. These proteins were also analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. These results provide evidence of differences in the two cell lines in the ability of some proteins to serve as substrates for protein kinase C. Four proteins in a highly purified preparation of protein kinase C, at molecular weights of 66,000, 74,000, and 78,000 (all with pI 6.5-7.1) and of 62,000 (pI 6.2-6.4), were protein kinase C substrates, one of which is probably protein kinase C.     

Partial parallelism and partial blockade by bryostatin 1 of effects of phorbol ester tumor promoters on primary mouse epidermal cells

Bryostatin 1, a macrocyclic lactone, functions like the phorbol esters biochemically in binding to and activating protein kinase C. Biologically, however, although it induces some phorbol ester responses such as mitogenesis in Swiss 3T3 cells, it paradoxically blocks the effects of the phorbol esters on differentiation in HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells and Friend erythroleukemia cells. Since the phorbol esters induce proliferation and terminal differentiation in distinct subpopulations of epidermal basal cells, we have now examined the action of bryostatin 1 in that system. Bryostatin 1 decreased epidermal growth factor binding and induced ornithine decarboxylase activity, the latter a marker of proliferation. The magnitude of the maximal induction of ornithine decarboxylase was less than for phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate. Bryostatin 1 only transiently caused the morphological change typical of phorbol ester treatment and did not induce transglutaminase or cornified envelope production, markers of the differentiative pathway. Combined treatment with bryostatin 1 and phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate gave similar results to treatment with bryostatin 1 alone, i.e., slight reduction to complete inhibition of phorbol ester action, depending on the response. The mechanism may reflect time dependent block of the protein kinase C pathway by bryostatin 1 in this system; although bryostatin 1 inhibited epidermal growth factor binding at short incubation times (1-2 h), by 4 h of incubation its inhibition was markedly reduced and it correspondingly blocked inhibition of epidermal growth factor binding by phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate. Since induction of terminal differentiation is proposed to be an essential component of phorbol ester mediated tumor promotion in skin, our findings suggest that bryostatin 1 may function as an inhibitor of phorbol ester promotion.     

Phorbol ester-induced macrophage-like differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells occurs independently of transferrin availability

Human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells can be induced to differentiate into macrophage-like cells by the tumor-promoting phorbol ester, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Addition of this agent to HL-60 cells causes a rapid internalization of surface transferrin receptor, followed by long-term receptor down-regulation at the level of gene expression. These effects precede the inhibition of proliferation and the acquisition of differentiation markers, and it has been suggested that transferrin receptor down-regulation may play a mediating role in these later events. Here we show that HL-60 cells will grow indefinitely in serum-free medium supplemented with either 5 micrograms ml-1 transferrin or 300 microM ferric citrate and that TPA inhibits cell proliferation (assayed by cell density and rate of thymidine incorporation) and induces macrophage-like differentiation (assayed by induction of cell adhesion and increased nonspecific esterase activity) with identical dose curves in both media. Furthermore, a neutralizing anti-transferrin antibody completely inhibits transferrin-dependent cell proliferation but has no effect on differentiation in the presence or absence of transferrin. We conclude that TPA-induced down-regulation of transferrin binding and internalization does not mediate the subsequent growth arrest and differentiation of HL-60 cells.