Effect of IL-3 on globin gene expression in a human erythroleukemia cell line

A human erythroleukemia cell line(K562 cells)was used as a model to study the effect of interleukin-3 (IL-3) on human globin gene expression in the cells. The results showed that the beta-globin gene was not expressed in uninduced K562 cells; however, it was expressed when K562 cells were induced for 3 or 5 days by IL-3. The expression of alpha- and gamma-globin gene were not much different between IL-3 induced and uninduced K562 cells. Using the method of benzidine-dyeing, it was observed that the percentage of blue cells was significantly increased when K562 cells were induced by IL-3. It suggested that IL-3 could not only activate the expression of beta-globin gene in K52 cells, but also induce the synthesis of hemoglobin. Therefore, IL-3 may play a critical role in inducing K562 cells to terminal differentiation.