Differing responses of G2-related genes during differentiation of HL60 cells induced by TPA or DMSO.

Differentiation leads to the cessation of cellular proliferation, but little is known about the molecular mechanisms of growth arrest. We compared the effect of two differentiation inducers, 12-o-tetradecanoyl 13-acetate (TPA) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on both the cell-cycle and the modulation of G2-related genes in synchronized HL60 cells. TPA treatment of HL60 cells resulted in G1 arrest within 24 h. In contrast, the cell cycling of DMSO-treated cells was initially accelerated and they progressed to the second cycle before accumulating in the G1 phase. Expression of cyclin B, cdc25, wee1 and cdc2 was studied during cell cycle arrest by Northern blot hybridization. Expression of cyclin B, cdc25 and cdc2 fluctuated in association with cell cycle progression towards the G2/M phase, while wee1 expression remained constant in untreated cells. These four genes were highly expressed in TPA-treated cells for the first 12 h, but drastic down-regulation was seen at 18 h and expression became undetectable after 24 h. In contrast, no remarked changes of gene expression were seen in DMSO-treated cells. These findings suggest that cell cycle progression along with the initial process of differentiation in response to TPA differs from the response to DMSO and that the down-regulation of cdc2 expression by TPA-treated HL60 cells contributes to endorsement of G1 arrest.