Effects of histamine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and db-cAMP on the differentiation of HL-60 cells.

Histamine (10(-7) to 10(-3) M) dose-dependently decreased the incorporation of 3H-thymidine into HL-60 cells, starting from the third day of culture. Also, histamine 1 microM significantly induced the differentiation of HL-60 into cells having the morphological characteristics of mature neutrophils, as did db-cAMP and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). Phosphorylation of proteins appeared at 60 kd and 120 kd was diminished. The phosphorylation profiles induced by G-CSF and db-cAMP were similar to that of histamine. In the case of db-cAMP, however, no phosphorylated band appeared at 120 kd.