Comparison of different methods for erythroid differentiation in the K562 cell line

Abstract

To compare methods for erythroid differentiation of K562 cells that will be promising in the treatment of beta-thalassemia by inducing gamma-globin synthesis. Cells were treated separately with: RPMI 1640 medium without glutamine, RPMI 1640 medium without glutamine supplemented with 1 mM sodium butyrate, RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 1 mM sodium butyrate, 25 A mu g cisplatin/ml, 0.1 A mu g cytosine arabinoside/ml. The highest differentiation (84 ) with minimum toxicity was obtained with cisplatin at 15 A mu g /ml. Real-time RT-PCR showed that expression of the gamma-globin gene was significantly higher in the cells differentiated with cisplatin compared to undifferentiated cells (P < 0.001). Cisplatin is useful in the experimental therapy of -globin gene defects and can be considered for examining the basic mechanism of gamma-reactivation.