Granulocytic differentiation of the human myelomonocytic leukaemia cell line ME-1 in serum-free culture.

We have recently established ME-1, a human myelomonocytic leukaemia cell line derived from acute myelomonocytic leukaemia with eosinophilia (M4E0). When ME-1 cells were cultured in serum-free medium, they stopped proliferating and began to differentiate morphologically, functionally and phenotypically to mature granulocyte-like cells. The protein kinase inhibitor, 1-(5-isoquinolinyl-sulphonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7) enhanced this differentiation dose-dependently. Upon addition of fetal calf serum (FCS) to the serum-free medium, the differentiation of ME-1 cells into granulocyte-like cells was inhibited and they resumed cell growth. We have recently reported that the differentiation of ME-1 cells into macrophage-like cells induced by IL-3 and GM-CSF involved the activation of protein kinase C. The present results indicate that ME-1 is a bipotential cell line that can differentiate into granulocyte-like cells or macrophage-like cells, and that protein kinase C is closely related to each form of differentiation.