Leukemic cell maturation: phenotypic variability and oncogene expression in HL60 cells: a review

Leukemic cells in vitro and in vivo demonstrate an unstable phenotype. We have observed in HL60 cells maintained in culture over long periods of time such phenomena as emergence of drug resistance, oncogene amplification, loss of granulocyte and monocyte lineage markers, and alteration in cell growth parameters. As summarized in this report, a comprehensive review of the literature on HL60 cells shows a wide diversity of phenotype for these cells. We have developed and acquired from other laboratories a series of HL60 sublines with varying phenotypic characteristics. The time in continuous log phase culture for HL60 cells (passage 13 ATCC, Rockville MD) to undergo phenotypic drift from a heavily granulated promyelocytic cell to a more undifferentiated agranular blast form on four occasions varied from 3 to 18 months. The actual loss of promyelocytic phenotype occurred rapidly (within less than 1 month) following a variable period of apparent stable phenotype, The change in morphology was invariably accompanied by decreased sensitivity to ARA-c (5- to 20-fold increase in LD50 and dose necessary to induce NSE positive cells). The c-myc gene is variably amplified in sublines of HL60 cells. The expression of c-myc primarily reflects alterations in cell cycle kinetics and was not found to be correlated with a switch between proliferation and maturation. These results suggest that phenotypic drift may be due to loss of response to regulatory signals that affect the expression of a number of cellular genes.