Proliferation and differentiation of erythroleukemia cell line (ELM-I-1) in response to erythropoietin and interleukin 3.

Here we describe the characterization of Epo-responsive mouse erythroleukemia cell line ELM-I-1. ELM-I-1 cells possess Epo binding sites on their membranes and differentiate into hemoglobin-positive cells when cultured in the presence of Epo. About 20% of the cells were hemoglobin-positive after a 3- to 4-day exposure to recombinant human Epo in liquid culture. Supplementation of recombinant mouse IL-3 during culture had an augmentative effect on Epo-mediated differentiation, although IL-3 alone did not induce differentiation. Both Epo and IL-3 stimulated the growth of ELM-I-1 cells, and their effects were a slightly additive. These findings indicate that ELM-I-1 cells are suitable for studying the interaction between Epo and IL-3 in erythroid differentiation at a subcellular level. ELM-I-1 may also offer a valuable bioassay system for Epo.