Drug sequestration in cytoplasmic organelles does not contribute to the diminished sensitivity of anthracyclines in multidrug resistant K562 cells.

Cells that acquire multidrug resistance (MDR) are characterized by a decreased accumulation of a variety of drugs. In addition, sequestration of drugs in intracellular vesicles has often been associated with MDR. However, the nature and role of intracellular vesicles in MDR are unclear. We addressed the relationship between MDR and vesicular anthracycline accumulation in the erythroleukemia cell line K562 and a drug-resistant counterpart K562/ADR that overexpresses P-glycoprotein. We used four anthracyclines (all of which are P-glycoprotein substrates): daunorubicin and idarubicin, which have good affinity for DNA and as weak bases can accumulate inside acidic compartments; hydroxyrubicin, which binds to DNA but is uncharged at physiological or acidic pH and thus cannot accumulate in acidic compartments; and WP900, an enantiomer of daunorubicin, which is a weak DNA binder but has the same pKa and lipophilicity as daunorubicin. The intrinsic fluorescence of anthracyclines allowed us to use macro- and micro-spectrofluorescence, flow cytometry, and confocal microscopy to characterize their nuclear or intravesicular accumulation in living cells. We found that vesicular accumulation of daunorubicin, WP900 and idarubicin, containing a basic 3'-amine was predominantly restricted to lysosomes in both cell lines, that pH regulation of acidic compartments was not defective in human K562 cells, and that vesicular drug accumulation was much more pronounced in the parental tumor cell line than in the multidrug-resistant cells. These results indicate that vesicular anthracycline sequestration does not contribute to the diminished sensitivity to anthracyclines in multidrug-resistant K562 cells.     

Determination of intracellular organelles implicated in daunorubicin cytoplasmic sequestration in multidrug-resistant MCF-7 cells using fluorescence microscopy image analysis

BACKGROUND: Anthracycline resistance is known to be mediated by P-glycoprotein (P-gp) or multidrug-resistance related protein (MRP) as well as intracellular sequestration of drugs. METHODS: The resistance phenotype of doxorubicin-selected MCF-7(DXR) human breast adenocarcinoma cell line was characterized by cellular and nuclear daunorubicin efflux, P-gp and MRP expression and apoptosis induction. Daunorubicin sequestration was investigated through organelle markers (lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus) and daunorubicin co-localization by dual-color image analysis fluorescence microscopy using high numerical aperture objective lenses to achieve the smallest field depth and the best lateral resolution. Signal to noise and specificity ratios were optimized for daunorubicin and organelle fluorescent probes labeling. RESULTS: An original image analysis procedure was developed to investigate daunorubicin and organelles co-localization. The reliability of the image analysis was controlled through chromatic shift and intensity linearity measurement using calibrated microbeads. The main contribution (65%) of Golgi vesicles in daunorubicin sequestration was demonstrated. Although no rational relationship could be established between daunorubicin sequestration and apoptosis induction, no apoptosis was observed in MCF-7(DXR) cells. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to P-glycoprotein mediated drug efflux and without MRP overexpression, MCF-7(DXR) daunorubicin resistance phenotype involves drug sequestration within intracellular vesicles identified as Golgi vesicles and resistance to apoptosis induction.     

A model for computer simulation of P-glycoprotein and transmembrane delta pH-mediated anthracycline transport in multidrug-resistant tumor cells

Anthracycline resistance in multidrug-resistant (MDR) tumor cells is due in part to a reduced cellular drug accumulation. Using a simple kinetic model and numerical computer simulations, we have analyzed mathematically the following possible mechanisms controlling fluxes of the membrane permeable anthracyclines in MDR cells: (1) active outward transport via a specific drug transporter (P-glycoprotein), (2) exocytotic drug export via the endosomal vesicle system, and (3) pH-gradients across the plasma membrane. Model calculations were based on morphometric and kinetic data previously presented in the literature for daunorubicin transport in wild-type Ehrlich ascites tumor cells (EHR2) and the corresponding daunorubicin (DNR)-resistant cell line EHR2/DNR+. The results confirm the possible importance of the cell-surface pH in controlling DNR accumulation in the cells. With P-glycoprotein as the main efflux pump, a catalytic constant of the protein greater than 40 mol DNR transported/mol protein per min is predicted by the model calculations. Changes in the drug binding affinity of P-glycoprotein (Km = 10(-9)-10(-6) M) is of little importance in influencing its effectiveness to reduce DNR accumulation, which could explain the broad substrate specificity of the MDR efflux pump system. The conditions to evaluate unidirectional fluxes of DNR across the plasma membrane in cells with active P-glycoprotein are defined. An efflux mechanism which relies solely on pH-dependent drug trapping in a pH 5 endosomal compartment by a simple diffusion process followed by exocytosis, appears inadequate to account for the high rate of DNR efflux in EHR2/DNR+ cells.     

Kinetics of daunorubicin transport by P-glycoprotein of intact cancer cells.

Drug permeation across the plasma membrane of multidrug-resistant cells depends on the kinetics of the P-glycoprotein-mediated pump activity as well as on the passive permeation of the drug. We here demonstrate a method to characterize kinetically the pump in intact cells. To this purpose, we examined the membrane-transport properties of daunorubicin in various sensitive cancer cell lines and in their multidrug resistant (MDR) counterparts. First, we determined the passive permeability coefficient for daunorubicin. Then, using a flow-through system, the drug flux into the cell was measured after inhibition of the P-glycoprotein-mediated efflux pump. Combining the two results allowed us to calculate the intracellular free concentration of the drug. In the steady-state, the pump rate must equal the net rate of passive diffusion of the drug and, therefore, the same experiments gave us the pumping rate of daunorubicin. These experiments were then repeated at various extracellular drug concentrations. By plotting the pumping rate versus the intracellular drug concentration, we then characterized the P-glycoprotein kinetically. Four independent methods were used to measure the passive permeability coefficient for the cell line A2780. Similar values were obtained. Maximal pump rates (Vmax) showed a good correlation with the amount of P-glycoprotein in the cell lines used. We obtained saturation curves for the variation of the pump rates with the intracellular daunorubicin concentrations. These curves were typical for positive cooperativity, which provides evidence that at least two binding sites for daunorubicin are present on the active transport system of daunorubicin. The apparent Km values for P-glycoprotein-mediated transport, the intracellular free cytosolic daunorubicin concentrations at half-maximal velocity for the cell lines used, were approximately 1.5 microM. Except for the cell lines with the highest amount of P-glycoprotein, the passive efflux rate of daunorubicin proved to be a substantial part of the total daunorubicin efflux rate for the cell lines used. In cell lines with relatively low levels of P-glycoprotein, passive daunorubicin efflux was even the main route of daunorubicin transport from the cells, determining the intracellular steady-state concentrations of daunorubicin.     

Anti-AIDS agents 89. Identification of DCX derivatives as anti-HIV and chemosensitizing dual function agents to overcome P-gp-mediated drug resistance for AIDS therapy

In this study, 19 dicamphanoyl-dihydropyranochromone (DCP) and dicamphanoyl-dihydropyranoxanthone (DCX) derivatives, previously discovered as novel anti-HIV agents, were evaluated for their potential to reverse multi-drug resistance (MDR) in a cancer cell line over-expressing P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Seven compounds fully reversed resistance to vincristine (VCR) at 4 μM, a 20-fold enhancement compared to the first generation chemosensitizer, verapamil (4 μM). The mechanism of action of DCPs and DCXs was also resolved, since the most active compounds (3, 4, and 7) significantly increased intracellular drug accumulation due, in part, to inhibiting the P-gp mediated drug efflux from cells. We conclude that DCPs (3 and 4) and DCXs (7, 11, and 17) can exhibit polypharmacologic behavior by acting as dual inhibitors of HIV replication and chemoresistance mediated by P-gp. As such, they may be useful in combination therapy to overcome P-gp-associated drug resistance for AIDS treatment.     

Chemotoxicity of doxorubicin and surface expression of P-glycoprotein (MDR1) is regulated by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa toxin Cif

P-glycoprotein (Pgp), a member of the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily, is a major drug efflux pump expressed in normal tissues, and is overexpressed in many human cancers. Overexpression of Pgp results in reduced intracellular drug concentration and cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs and is thought to contribute to multidrug resistance of cancer cells. The involvement of Pgp in clinical drug resistance has led to a search for molecules that block Pgp transporter activity to improve the efficacy and pharmacokinetics of therapeutic agents. We have recently identified and characterized a secreted toxin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, designated cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) inhibitory factor (Cif). Cif reduces the apical membrane abundance of CFTR, also an ABC transporter, and inhibits the CFTR-mediated chloride ion secretion by human airway and kidney epithelial cells. We report presently that Cif also inhibits the apical membrane abundance of Pgp in kidney, airway, and intestinal epithelial cells but has no effect on plasma membrane abundance of multidrug resistance protein 1 or 2. Cif increased the drug sensitivity to doxorubicin in kidney cells expressing Pgp by 10-fold and increased the cellular accumulation of daunorubicin by 2-fold. Thus our studies show that Cif increases the sensitivity of Pgp-overexpressing cells to doxorubicin, consistent with the hypothesis that Cif affects Pgp functional expression. These results suggest that Cif may be useful to develop a new class of specific inhibitors of Pgp aimed at increasing the sensitivity of tumors to chemotherapeutic drugs, and at improving the bioavailability of Pgp transport substrates.     

一种基于EGFP的、安全的抗HIV药物评价系统

目的：建立基于EGFP的、安全的抗人免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）药物评价系统。方法：用增强型绿色荧光蛋白（EGFP）基因替代HIV感染性克隆质粒pUC18-HIV-NL4-3中的部分包膜基因（env）,构建重组假病毒质粒pUC18-NL4-3-EGFP,将其与水疱性口炎病毒糖蛋白（VSV-G）真核表达载体共转染人胚肾293FT细胞,观察绿色荧光蛋白的表达,同时用该细胞培养上清进一步感染其他293FT细胞培养物。为了检验该假病毒系统能否用于抗病毒药物的评价,在假病毒复制和感染过程中加入不同浓度的抗HIV药物AZT（Zidovudine）,采用荧光显微镜检测和流式细胞仪定量检测,分析AZT对假病毒的抑制作用。结果：假病毒质粒pUC18-NL4-3-EGFP能够在转染细胞和再感染细胞中有效地表达绿色荧光蛋白基因,不同浓度的AZT能以剂量依赖方式抑制假病毒的感染和报告基因的表达。结论：建立了一种基于EGFP表达和检测的、安全的HIV假病毒复制和感染系统,该系统可以用于抗HIV药物的筛选和评价。     

The medium is the message: glycosphingolipids and their soluble analogues

We have made adamantylGSLs by substituting the fatty acids of primarily, globotriaosyl ceramide(Gb(3)) and sulfogalactosyl ceramide(SGC), with the rigid alpha-adamantane hydrocarbon frame. These analogues have proven to be remarkably water-soluble but retain the receptor function of the parent membrane GSL. AdaGb(3) prevents the binding of verotoxins to target cells but increased pathology in vivo, likely due to the partitioning into receptor negative target cells to provide pseudo-receptors. Preincubation of HIV with adaGb(3) prevents cellular infection in vitro and viral-host cell fusion. Cellular accumulation of Gb(3) reduces HIV susceptibility in vitro, whereas lack of Gb(3) promotes infection, suggesting that Gb(3) expression could be a novel risk factor for HIV susceptibility. AdaGb(3) has proven to be a new inhibitor for the MDR1 drug pump (P-glycoprotein) and can reverse drug resistance in cell culture. AdaSGC is bound by hsp70/hsc70 within the N-terminal ATPase domain and inhibits chaperone function. When added to cells transfected with the DeltaF508 CFTR mutant, adaSGC was able to decrease ER degradation of this mutant protein, an hsc70 dependent process. Our finding that DeltaF508 CFTR expressing cells show reduced SGC biosynthesis suggests that SGC could be an additional natural regulator of the hsp70 chaperone ATPase cycle.     

Expression of a drug resistance gene in human neuroblastoma cell lines: modulation by retinoic acid-induced differentiation.

Expression of a multidrug resistance gene (mdr1) and its protein product, P-glycoprotein (Pgp), has been correlated with the onset of multidrug resistance in vitro in human cell lines selected for resistance to chemotherapeutic agents derived from natural products. Expression of this gene has also been observed in normal tissues and human tumors, including neuroblastoma. We therefore examined total RNA prepared from human neuroblastoma cell lines before and after differentiation with retinoic acid or sodium butyrate. An increase in the level of mdr1 mRNA was observed after retinoic acid treatment of four neuroblastoma cell lines, including the SK-N-SH cell line. Western blot (immunoblot) analysis demonstrated concomitant increases in Pgp. However, studies of 3H-vinblastine uptake failed to show a concomitant Pgp-mediated decrease in cytotoxic drug accumulation. To provide evidence that Pgp was localized on the cell surface, an immunotoxin conjugate directed against Pgp was added to cells before and after treatment with retinoic acid. Incorporation of [3H]leucine was decreased by the immunotoxin in the retinoic acid-treated cells compared with the undifferentiated cells. These results demonstrate that whereas expression of the mdr1 gene can be modulated by differentiating agents, increased levels of expression are not necessarily associated with increased cytotoxic drug accumulation.     

Reduced cyclosporin accumulation in multidrug-resistant cells

Cyclosporin accumulation was reduced by 50% or more in multidrug- resistant CHRC5 CHO cells with high levels of P-glycoprotein expression compared to drug sensitive AuxB1 CHO cells. This difference could be overcome by verapamil which is known to interact with P-glycoprotein and reverse multidrug resistance. The difference in cyclosporin accumulation between sensitive and resistant cells decreased with increasing cyclosporin concentrations suggesting that cyclosporine itself regulated its own accumulation through interaction with P-glycoprotein. Indeed, cyclosporin also reversed differences in vinblastine accumulation between resistant and sensitive cell lines. Since P-glycoprotein is highly expressed in the kidney which is also a target for cyclosporin toxicity, the effects of verapamil on cyclosporin accumulation were studied in two renal cell lines, rat mesangial cells and LLCPK1, cells. Verapamil increased cyclosporin accumulation by approximately 70%. These results suggest that cellular cyclosporine accumulation is regulated at least in part by its interaction with P-glycoprotein.     

Multidrug resistant HOB1 lymphoma cells express P-glycoprotein that does not play the major role in the development of drug resistance to adriamycin.

Two cell lines resistant to 0.1 microM vincristine (VCR) and 2.0 microM adriamycin (ADR), respectively, (designated HOB1/VCR0.1 and HOB1/ADR2.0) were established from a human immunoblastic B lymphoma cell line. These cell lines showed the typical MDR phenotype with overexpression of P-glycoprotein and decreased [3H]VCR accumulation. The retention amounts of intracellular [3H]VCR in these two cell lines could be augmented by verapamil. However, in spite of the overproduction of P-glycoprotein, both HOB1/VCR1.0 and HOB1/ADR2.0 cells did not exhibit decreased accumulation of intracellular [14C]ADR. And the retention of [14C]ADR was not affected by verapamil. Our data support that P-glycoprotein is a drug transporter more important for the development of drug resistance to VCR than to ADR.     

Actin disruption inhibits endosomal traffic of P-glycoprotein-EGFP and resistance to daunorubicin accumulation

Intracellular traffic of human P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a membrane transporter responsible for multidrug resistance in cancer chemotherapy, was investigated using a P-gp and enhanced green fluorescent fusion protein (P-gp-EGFP) in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. The stably expressed P-gp-EGFP from a clonal cell population was functional as a drug efflux pump, as demonstrated by the inhibition of daunorubicin accumulation and the conferring of resistance of the cells to colchicine and daunorubicin. Colocalization experiments demonstrated that a small fraction of the total P-gp-EGFP expressed was localized intracellularly and was present in early endosome and lysosome compartments. P-gp-EGFP traffic was shown to occur via early endosome transport to the plasma membrane. Subsequent movement of P-gp-EGFP away from the plasma membrane occurred by endocytosis to the early endosome and lysosome. The component of the cytoskeleton responsible for P-gp-EGFP traffic was demonstrated to be actin rather than microtubules. In functional studies it was shown that in parallel with the interruption of the traffic of P-gp-EGFP, cellular accumulation of the P-gp substrate daunorubicin was increased after cells were treated with actin inhibitors, and cell proliferation was inhibited to a greater extent than in the presence of daunorubicin alone. The actin dependence of P-gp traffic and the parallel changes in cytotoxic drug accumulation demonstrated in this study delineates the pathways of P-gp traffic and may provide a new approach to overcoming multidrug resistance in cancer chemotherapy. protein traffic; drug resistance in cancer; daunorubicin     

Rewired Metabolism in Drug-resistant Leukemia Cells: A METABOLIC SWITCH HALLMARKED BY REDUCED DEPENDENCE ON EXOGENOUS GLUTAMINE*

Cancer cells that escape induction therapy are a major cause of relapse. Understanding metabolic alterations associated with drug resistance opens up unexplored opportunities for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Here, we applied a broad spectrum of technologies including RNA sequencing, global untargeted metabolomics, and stable isotope labeling mass spectrometry to identify metabolic changes in P-glycoprotein overexpressing T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells, which escaped a therapeutically relevant daunorubicin treatment. We show that compared with sensitive ALL cells, resistant leukemia cells possess a fundamentally rewired central metabolism characterized by reduced dependence on glutamine despite a lack of expression of glutamate-ammonia ligase (GLUL), a higher demand for glucose and an altered rate of fatty acid β-oxidation, accompanied by a decreased pantothenic acid uptake capacity. We experimentally validate our findings by selectively targeting components of this metabolic switch, using approved drugs and starvation approaches followed by cell viability analyses in both the ALL cells and in an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) sensitive/resistant cell line pair. We demonstrate how comparative metabolomics and RNA expression profiling of drug-sensitive and -resistant cells expose targetable metabolic changes and potential resistance markers. Our results show that drug resistance is associated with significant metabolic costs in cancer cells, which could be exploited using new therapeutic strategies.     

Energy-dependent accumulation of daunorubicin into subcellular compartments of human leukemia cells and cytoplasts.

Anthracycline accumulation was evaluated by flow cytometry or radiolabeled drug assays in cells and cytoplasts (enucleated cells) prepared from parental and multidrug-resistant human K562 leukemia cells. Treatment with energy inhibitors, such as dinitrophenol (DNP) or sodium azide/deoxyglucose, led to a marked decrease in daunorubicin accumulation in parental cells and cytoplasts. Another ionophore, monensin, also caused a significant decrease in daunorubicin accumulation; however, ATPase inhibitors ouabain, vanadate, and N-ethylamaleimide had little or no effect. The lysosomatropic agents chloroquine and methylamine caused a moderate decrease in anthracycline accumulation. Fluorescence microscopy showed that the DNP-sensitive daunorubicin uptake occurred in a nonnuclear subcellular compartment. Studies using increasing daunorubicin concentrations demonstrated fluorescence quenching that occurred in the nonnuclear, DNP-sensitive compartment. The effect of inhibitors on the accumulation of rhodamine 123 and acridine orange strongly implicated lysosomes as the principal compartment of this inhibitable daunorubicin accumulation. Cytoplasts from P-glycoprotein containing multidrug-resistant K562 cells demonstrated a verapamil-reversible, decreased daunorubicin accumulation that was observed in resistant whole cells. Verapamil pretreatment of cytoplasts from resistant cells revealed the subcellular DNP-sensitive uptake present in parental cytoplasts. These studies demonstrate that cytoplasts are an effective means to study drug transport in mammalian cells without nuclear drug binding. Parental K562 cells and cytoplasts exhibit an energy-dependent accumulation of daunorubicin into cytoplasmic organelles that is also present in resistant cells and cytoplasts when P-glycoprotein mediated efflux is inhibited.     

Inhibition of P-glycoprotein expression and reversal of drug resistance of human hepatoma HepG2 cells by multidrug resistance gene (mdr1) antisense RNA

The development of multiple drug resistance in tumor cells is a significant problem in cancer therapy. In human, one of the reasons causing the resistance is due to the overexpression of the mdr1 gene product, P-glycoprotein. In our study, we had developed multiple drug resistant HepG2 cell line (HepG2/DR). To reverse the resistance, HepG2-DR cells were treated with antisense RNA against mdr1 gene. Total RNA and protein were extracted from the transfected cells. Northern analysis showed that mRNA level of mdr1 was decreased whereas a reduction in P-glycoprotein was detected by Western blot. By using flow cytometry, the ability of intracellular doxorubicin retention increased and drug efflux decreased in the treated cells. The result also showed that the cellular sensitivity to doxorubicin, vincristine and methotrexate measured in IC50 increased 83.3% 84.6% and 50% respectively. All these findings suggested that the expression of p-glycoprotein was successfully inhibited by antisense RNA and the drug resistance was reduced.     

Altered intracellular pH regulation in cells with high levels of P-glycoprotein expression

P-glycoprotein is an ATP-binding-cassette transporter that pumps many structurally unrelated drugs out of cells through an ATP-dependent mechanism. As a result, multidrug-resistant cells that overexpress P-glycoprotein have reduced intracellular steady-state levels of a variety of chemotherapeutic agents. In addition, increased cytosolic pH has been a frequent finding in multidrug-resistant cells that express P-glycoprotein, and it has been proposed that this consequence of P-glycoprotein expression may contribute to the lower intracellular levels of chemotherapeutic agents. In these studies, we measured intracellular pH and the rate of acid extrusion in response to an acid load in two cells with very different levels of P-glycoprotein expression: V79 parental cells and LZ-8 multidrug resistant cells. Compared to the wild-type V79 cells, LZ-8 cells have a lower intracellular pH and a slower recovery of intracellular pH after an acid load. The data also show that LZ-8 cells have reduced ability to extrude acid, probably due to a decrease in Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger activity. The alterations in intracellular pH and acid extrusion in LZ-8 cells are reversed by 24-h exposure to the multidrug-resistance modulator verapamil. The lower intracellular pH in LZ-8 indicates that intracellular alkalinization is not necessary for multidrug resistance. The reversal by verapamil of the decreased acid-extrusion suggests that P-glycoprotein can affect other membrane transport mechanism.     

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway is activated by daunorubicin in human acute myeloid leukemia cell lines.

Daunorubicin induces apoptosis in myeloid leukemia cells by activation of neutral sphingomyelinase and ceramide generation occurring 4-10 min after daunorubicin addition. We show here that daunorubicin is able to increase the phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity and enhance intracellular phosphoinositide 3-kinase lipid products prior to ceramide generation. Daunorubicin activates Akt, a downstream phosphoinositide 3-kinase effector. Interestingly, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitors wortmannin and LY294002 accelerate daunorubicin-induced apoptosis in U937 cells. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway has been involved in cell survival following serum deprivation, tumor necrosis factor alpha, anti-Fas and UV radiations. Our results suggest that anti-tumor agents such as daunorubicin may also activate anti-apoptotic signals that could contribute to drug resistance.     

Schisandrin B--a novel inhibitor of P-glycoprotein

P-glycoprotein-mediated drug efflux is one of the major causes of the cancer multidrug resistance (MDR). Inhibition of P-glycoprotein could reverse cancer MDR. Here, we show that schisandrin B, a naturally occurring compound from Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill, bears strong potency to inhibit P-glycoprotein. Schisandrin B reversed the drug resistance of four MDR cell lines characterized with overexpression of P-glycoprotein and fully restored the intracellular drug accumulation by interacting with P-glycoprotein. Schisandrin B has a core structure of dibenzocyclooctadiene, representing a novel P-glycoprotein inhibitor. To our best knowledge, the role of schisandrin B to inhibit P-glycoprotein has not been reported.     

Human immunodeficiency virus infection of monoblastoid cells: cellular differentiation determines the pattern of virus replication.

Stringent control of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication was observed in the human monoblastoid cell line U937. A low-multiplicity infection of these cells by the LAV1 strain of HIV was productive for 2.5 days; then virus replication became restricted and no further evidence of virion production was observed. The dramatic decrease in HIV production was due in part of reduced accumulation of cytoplasmic viral RNA and occurred in the absence of evident cytopathic effects. In contrast, infected cells induced to differentiate by phorbol ester, vitamin D3, or lymphokine supernatant did not release markers of HIV despite the accumulation of significant levels of cytoplasmic viral RNA. HIV infection altered the pattern of c-myc RNA accumulation in U937 cells. Expression of this gene changes normally in response to the state of cellular differentiation; in infected cells the level of c-myc expression was correlated to the levels of viral RNA accumulation and not to cellular differentiation. These results suggest that restricted replication of HIV in monocytes might be an important mechanism of virus persistence and demonstrate a relationship between HIV replication and monocyte differentiation.