Chlamydia trachomatis (L2 serovar) can be bound, ingested and destroyed by differentiated but not by undifferentiated human promyelocyte cell line HL-60.

As a model system for analysing interactions between chlamydiae and myeloid cells and their precursors, we have studied binding, ingestion and destruction of Chlamydia trachomatis (L2 serovar) by the human promyelocytic cell line HL-60. HL-60 cells were induced by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) to differentiate along either the macrophage or the granulocyte pathway, respectively. Using an immunofluorescence assay and electron microscopy, we have shown that induced (differentiated) HL-60 cells, but not uninduced (undifferentiated) HL-60 or other cell lines treated with PMA or DMSO, exhibit increased binding, ingestion and elimination of C. trachomatis; these activities are associated with specific histochemical and antigenic markers of myeloid differentiation. These results suggest that myeloid cells acquire the ability to interact with and kill chlamydiae during cell development.