All FAB M6 and M7 and trilineal leukaemias expressed mRNAs for alpha-globin, glycoprotein IIb (GpIIb), erythropoietin receptor (Epo-R) and thrombopoietin receptor (c-mpl), but not for myeloperoxidase (MPO) which in contrast was expressed in the other FAB-subtype leukaemias.
Previous analysis of the hemoglobin phenotype of the K562 human erythroleukemia cell line showed regulated expression of the epsilon-, zeta-, gamma-, alpha-, and delta-globin genes.
Our results provide a comprehensive functional view of the murine alpha-globin promoter and suggest possible mechanisms for activation of alpha-globin gene transcription during induced differentiation of murine erythroleukemia cells.