Coordinate expression of erythroid marker enzymes during dimethylsulfoxide-induced differentiation of Friend erythroleukemia cells

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Eleven clones of Friend erythroleukemia cells, each derived from one of the three major families of Friend cells (clone 745, FSD-1 and SFST-3), and differing in their degree of response to dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), were tested for carbonic anhydrase, acetylcholinesterase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and catalase activity, before and after treatment with DMSO. The levels obtained were compared with those found in nine non-erythroid cell lines, displaying various epigenetic states. Acetylcholinesterase and carbonic anhydrase activities were elevated in Friend cells as compared with those found in non-erythroid cells. Both enzyme activities increased in inducible Friend cells during treatment with DMSO. Carbonic anhydrase activity rose late, in parallel with hemoglobin production, while acetylcholinesterase activity increased soon after DMSO addition. The decrease in 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activity, which is known to occur in vivo, was observed in only one highly inducible clone during the terminal phases of the induction. Finally, catalase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase levels in Friend cells were similar to those found in non-erythroid cells and remained unchanged during treatment with DMSO. Thus, the changes in the activity of both of these markers, which take place during the terminal stages of normal erythropoiesis, were not observed during DMSO-induced differentiation of Friend cells. These data support the model that Friend cells are blocked at a late stage of erythroid maturation and that DMSO stimulates them to progress further towards terminal differentiation, following the sequence of events occurring in vivo. Our data indicate also that the changes taking place during treatment with DMSO are mostly quantitative, and that more than one regulatory program directs the coordinate expression of the markers studied here. Finally Friend cells, regardless of their origin, express a similar level of erythroid maturation, prior to induction, even when they differ considerably in their capacity to express the various programs induced by DMSO.