Membrane protein redistribution during differentiation of cultured human erythroleukemic cells.

Human erythroleukemic (K562) cells differentiate along the erythroid differentiation pathway in vitro when 0.05 mM hemin is included in the growth medium. In the presence of the inducer the cells continue to proliferate and, after a delay of 24 to 48 h, start to synthesize hemoglobin. However, during differentiation, no changes in the major cell surface proteins were detected using lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination, and no change in the synthesis of spectrin, the major cytoskeletal protein of the mature erythrocyte, was detected by specific immune precipitation. Despite this absence of major changes in cell surface proteins, profound changes take place in the organization of the cell membranes. A process similar but not identical to the enucleation observed in erythroid differentiation in vivo occurs in which a smooth-surfaced cell, about 10 micrometers in diameter, is divided from the nucleus-containing part of the cell. With the exception of ribosomes, these reticulocyte-like cells contain no organelles when examined by transmission electron microscopy, but contain much of the parent cell's hemoglobin, spectrin, and glycophorin.