Philip J. French

Changes in the Levels of Inositol Lipids and Phosphates during the Differentiation of HL60 Promyelocytic Cells towards Neutrophils or Monocytes

HL60 cells were adapted to grow in a serum-free medium containing 1 mg l-1 inositol, in which they differentiated normally towards neutrophils (in 0.9% by volume dimethylsulphoxide) and towards monocytes (in 10 nM phorbol myristate acetate). Cells that had been equilibrium-labelled with [2-3H] myo-inositol contained a complex pattern of inositol metabolites, several of which were at relatively high concentrations. These included InsP5 and InsP6, which were present at concentrations of about 25 μM and 60 μM, respectively. Striking and different changes occurred in the levels of some of the inositol polyphosphates as the cells differentiated towards either neutrophils or monocytes. Most notable were a large but gradual accumulation of Ins(1, 3, 4, 5, 6)P5 as HL60 cells decreased in size and acquired neutrophil characteristics, and much more rapid and sequential declines in InsP4, InsP5 and InsP6 as the cells started to take on monocyte character. There was a marked accumulation of free inositol and of phosphatidylinositol in the cells during neutrophil differentiation, probably caused at least in part by an increased rate of inositol uptake providing an increased intracellular inositol supply. The same accumulation of Ins( 1, 3, 4, 5, 6)P5 occurred during neutrophil differentiation, whether it was induced by dimethylsulphoxide or by a combination of retinoic acid and a T-lymphocyte cell line-derived differentiation factor. Ins(1, 4, 5)P3, a physiological intracellular mediator of Ca2+ release from membrane stores, did not change in concentration during these differentiation processes. These observations suggest that some of the more abundant cellular inositol polyphosphates play some important, but not yet understood, role either in the processes of haemopoietic differentiation or in the expression of differentiated cell character in myeloid cells.

Intracellular concentrations of inositol, glycerophosphoinositol and inositol pentakisphosphate increase during haemopoietic cell differentiation

We have analysed the levels of soluble inositol metabolites in HL60 cells as they differentiate towards neutrophils in response to a combination of all-trans-retinoic acid and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and towards monocytes in response to 1 alpha-25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. In both cases, differentiation was accompanied by increases in intracellular inositol (Ins), glycerophosphoinositol (GroPIns) and inositol pentakisphosphate (InsP5) concentrations. [GroPIns] reached a peak early in the differentiation of both neutrophils and monocytes and subsequently fell to about double the starting level as the cells acquired mature characteristics, and [InsP5] rose later. Similarly, neutrophils derived in culture by the spontaneous differentiation of myeloid blast cells contained increased levels of Ins, GroPIns and InsP5 when compared to their parental blast cells. We have also compared the inositol metabolites present in two pairs of cell lines which are representative of immature and mature B and T lymphocytes. The mature cells again contained the higher levels of GroPIns and InsP5. We have previously demonstrated increases in Ins, GroPIns and Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 levels during the differentiation of HL60 cells towards neutrophils in response to DMSO and of GroPIns during the monocytoid differentiation of normal primitive myeloid blast cells in response to PMA. These observations suggest that deacylation of phosphatidylinositol by a phospholipase A/lysophospholipase pathway, forming GroPIns and probably also regulatory arachidonate metabolites, has some role in haemopoietic cell differentiation. The reasons why Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 and Ins accumulate during haemopoietic differentiation remain unknown.

Changes in inositol transport during DMSO-induced differentiation of HL60 cells towards neutrophils.

[3H]Inositol uptake by HL60 cells was measured during DMSO-induced differentiation towards neutrophils. The values for Km (53.2 microM) and Vmax (5.3 pmol/min per 10(6) cells) obtained for control HL60 cells are in good agreement with previously published figures for this cell line. Inositol transport into HL60 cells was an active, saturable and specific process which was unaffected by extracellular glucose concentrations. Inositol transport rates changed during DMSO-induced differentiation of HL60 cells towards neutrophils. An increase in inositol transport rates occurred during the first 4 days of exposure to 0.9% DMSO and was concommitant with the period leading to growth arrest and prior to the acquisition of the differentiated phenotype. These changes preceded the rise in intracellular inositol concentration from 10.9 to 132.7 microM seen between day 1 and day 5. After 4 days exposure to DMSO the rate of inositol transport fell to a value of 3.2 +/- 0.3 pmol/min per 10(6) cells at day 7, this was accompanied by a small reduction in intracellular inositol from a peak value of 132.7 to 112 microM. The inositol transport rate, thus, appears to closely accompany changes in the intracellular concentration of inositol. Inositol transport in human peripheral blood neutrophils was an order of magnitude slower than the value for uninduced HL60 cells, but the Km for inositol transport was similar in both cell types and was unchanged during HL60 differentiation. This suggests that changes in inositol transport rate are achieved by the modulation of a commonly expressed inositol transporter, one consequence of which is the alteration of intracellular inositol concentrations.

Levels of inositol metabolites within normal myeloid blast cells and changes during their differentiation towards monocytes

A homogeneous population of undifferentiated myeloid blast cells was purified from human fetal liver by rosette sedimentation of erythroblasts and macrophages, after coating these cells with monoclonal antibodies, followed by a cell elutriation step. The undifferentiated blast cells were maintained in culture, in a serum-free medium containing 1 mg 1-1 inositol, by the presence of a high concentration of interleukin-3 (100 U ml-1). This allowed equilibrium labelling of cells with [2-3H]myo-inositol and analysis of the concentrations of inositol metabolites. The myeloid blast cells contained high concentrations of an unidentified inositol metabolite, possibly sn-glycero-3-phospho-I -inositol (GroPIns, 22 µm), inositol monophosphate (InsP, 16 µm, an unidentified inositol bisphosphate (InsP2, 9.4 µm), inositol pentakisphosphate (InsP5, 37 µm) and inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6, 31 µm ). These high concentrations are similar to those reported in the promyeloid cell line, HL60. Treatment of the blast cells with 10 nM phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) resulted in rapid differentiation of 48% of the cells towards monocytes. Notable changes in the levels of inositol metabolites included an increase in the putative GroPIns peak (to 73 µm) and decreases in the concentrations of InsP4 (from 4 µm to 1 µm) and InsP5 (to 21 µm). These changes in response to PMA, with the exception of the rise in the putative GroPIns, are similar to those reported in HL60 cells undergoing monocyte differentiation. These observations suggest that the abundant inositol polyphosphates may have an as yet unknown role in myeloid differentiation.