Studies with the folate binding protein in chronic granulocytic leukaemia cells. I. Synthesis and release of binder by cells in short-term culture.

Chronic granulocytic leukaemia (CGL) cells which contained a high concentration of unsaturated folate binding protein were incubated in suspension culture for a period of 5 h. Cell samples were periodically assayed for binder and these demonstrated active synthesis which was inhibited by puromycin, cyclo heximide, N-ethylmaleimide, and by incubation at 4 degrees C, but not by actinomycin D. Folate binding activity could also be demonstrated in the culture medium and this increased with the duration of incubation. This release of binder was inhibited by culturing the cells at 4 degrees C and by the addition of N-ethylmaleimide, but not by actinomycin D, puromycin, or cycloheximide. When the pre- and post-culture cell lysates were saturated with tritiated folic acid ([3H]PteGlu) and subjected to chromatography on DEAE-agrarose, approximately half of the bound folate eluted with 0.001 M phosphate buffer at pH 6.0 and the other half eluted with 0.2 M buffer at pH 7.2. The culture medium and plasma from this patient with CGL was well as serum from two normal subjects saturated with [3H]PteGlu and similarly chromatographed contained primarily the acidic binder and much less of the binder eluting with the low molarity buffer. Since a folate binding protein immunochemically similar to the binder in CGL cells has been identified in the serum of non-leukaemic subjects, these experiments suggest that the source of circulating folate binding protein may be the immature granulocyte.