Cell cycle events in the hydrocortisone regulation of alkaline phosphatase in HeLa S3 cells.

The increase in alkaline phosphatase in asynchronous cultures of HeLa S(3) cells grown in medium supplemented with hydrocortisone is characterized by a lag period of 10-12 hr. Present studies utilizing synchronous cell populations indicate: (a) a minimum of 8-10 hr of incubation with hydrocortisone is necessary for maximum induction of alkaline phosphatase; (b) the increase in enzyme activity produced by hydrocortisone is initiated exclusively in the synthetic phase of the cell cycle; (c) alkaline phosphatase activity does not vary appreciably over a normal control cell cycle. Radioactive hydrocortisone is rapidly distributed into HeLa cells irrespective of their position in the cell cycle, indicating that inductive effects are not governed by selective permeability during the cell cycle. Hydrocortisone-1,2-[(3)H] diffuses back from the cell into the medium when the cells are incubated in fresh medium containing no hydrocortisone, and the alkaline phosphatase induction, under these conditions, is completely reversible.