Retinoic acid and alpha-difluoromethylornithine induce different expression of neural-specific cell adhesion molecules in differentiating neuroblastoma cells.

Human neuroblastoma cells SK-N-BE(2) can be induced to differentiate towards a neuronal phenotype by retinoic acid (RA) or a schwannian/glial phenotype by alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), producing differential binding of 14 antibodies (MAbs). RA induced the expression of the neural cell adhesion molecule, NCAM (also confirmed by northern blot); whereas DFMO enhanced the binding of MAbs UJ181.4, UJ127.11 which recognise an identical protein doublet of 220-240 kDa, thought to be the L1 protein(s). The data presented demonstrate that neuroblastoma cells differentiate toward separate phenotypes associated with a specific induction of two different adhesion molecules, NCAM on neuronal cells and L1 on schwannian/glial cells.