The role of STAT3 in granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-induced enhancement of neutrophilic differentiation of Me2SO-treated HL-60 cells. GM-CSF inhibits the nuclear translocation of tyrosine-phosphorylated STAT3.

The role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) on neutrophilic differentiation of Me2SO-treated HL-60 cells was studied. G-CSF augmented the functional maturation of Me2SO-treated HL-60 cells in terms of both O-2-generating ability and expression of the formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine receptor. G-CSF induced enhancement of cell growth in Me2SO-treated HL-60 cells. These results indicate that G-CSF is a potent enhancer for the differentiation and proliferation of Me2SO-treated HL-60 cells. G-CSF caused the activation of p70 S6 kinase but not mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. On the other hand, G-CSF rapidly induced tyrosine phosphorylation of signal transducers and activators of transcription-3 (STAT3), but did not induce serine727 phosphorylation. From the analysis of confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy and differential centrifugation, it was clearly demonstrated that G-CSF induced nuclear translocation of tyrosine-phosphorylated STAT3. The G-CSF-dependent enhancement of neutrophilic differentiation in Me2SO-HL-60 cells was reversely inhibited by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Notably, in the presence of GM-CSF, G-CSF induced the tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT3 but failed to induce the nuclear translocation of tyrosine-phosphorylated STAT3. GM-CSF induced activation of not only p70 S6 kinase, but also of MAP kinase. Furthermore, GM-CSF caused the rapid serine727 phosphorylation of STAT3, both in the presence and absence of G-CSF. PD98059, an MEK1 inhibitor, inhibited the G-CSF-dependent serine727 phosphorylation of STAT3 and blocked the inhibitory effect of GM-CSF on G-CSF-dependent nuclear translocation of STAT3. These results suggest that G-CSF-dependent nuclear translocation of STAT3 coordinates with the promotion of neutrophilic differentiation in Me2SO-treated HL-60 cells.