The critical role of the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor in the differentiation of myeloblastic leukemia cells

Abstract

How diverse stimuli control hemopoietic lineage development is unknown. An early event during induction of macrophage differentiation in the myeloblastic leukemia M1 cell line by different stimuli, such as leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), is expression of the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R). We report that expression of active CSF-1R in M1 cells accelerated their subsequent terminal differentiation into macrophages in response to LIF and IL-6 when compared with cells lacking the CSF-1R or expressing the receptor with compromised kinase activity; however, there was no requirement for signaling through the CSF-1R, for example, via endogenous CSF-1, durin..