Phorbol ester-treated human acute myeloid leukemia cells secrete G-CSF, GM-CSF and erythroid differentiation factor into serum-free media in primary culture.

Upon treatment with the phorbol ester, tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (PMA), peripheral mononuclear blood cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia secrete into serum-free cell-conditioned media (PMA-CCM) at least three distinct nondialysable 'hematopoietic' factors: granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte/macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and erythroid differentiation factor (EDF, activin A). G-CSF was identified by its stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation into a G-CSF-responsive cell line, NSF-60, and the inhibition of its stimulation by a G-CSF-specific monoclonal antibody (MAB). GM-CSF was identified by its stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation into a GM-CSF-responsive line, TALL-101, and the inhibition of its stimulation by a GM-CSF-specific MAB. EDF was identified by its ability to stimulate erythroid differentiation in mouse erythroleukemia cell lines, its identical retention times to those of authentic EDF on three successive reverse-phase HPLC columns and characterization of its penultimate N-terminal residue as leucine which is the same as that of authentic EDF. Both authentic EDF and the erythroid-stimulating activity in PMA-CCM were found to act synergistically with a suboptimal inducing concentration of a well-studied inducing agent, dimethyl sulfoxide, in inducing erythroid differentiation. In addition, a fourth activity was observed in PMA-CCM: normal human fetal bone marrow cell-proliferation stimulating activity (FBMC-PSA). FBMC-PSA was identified by its ability to stimulate the growth of granulocytes and macrophages in FBMC suspension cultures, which neither recombinant G-CSF or GM-CSF were found to do.