Possible involvement of retinoid-like cofactor in serum in hemin/protoporphyrin-IX-induced differentiation of human leukemia K562 cells.

Serum is generally added to media used for mammalian cell culture and for investigation of in vitro cell differentiation induction. Erythroid differentiation of human leukemia cell line K562 is induced by hemin or protoporphyrin IX in the presence of fetal bovine serum (FBS). Addition to the medium of retinoids enhanced the differentiation, and addition of retinoid antagonists suppressed the differentiation. Making the added FBS retinoid-free, i.e., treatment of the serum with charcoal, also reduced the efficiency of the cell differentiation induced by hemin or protoporphyrin IX. These facts suggest that retinoids or retinoid-like cofactor(s) in serum are necessary for hemin/protoporphyrin-IX-induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells.