Post-Transcriptional Regulation by Interferonα of ε-Globin Production in Human Erythroleukemia K-562 Cells

Treatment of human K-562 erythroleukemia cells with interferon-α (IFN-α) resulted in a six-fold increase in the production of ε-globin, a component of embryonic hemoglobin, but in a two-fold or less augmentation of the production of other globin species. There was no comparable increase in the production of ε-globin mRNA following IFN treatment. We did, however, observe a shift in the cytoplasmic location of the ε-globin mRNA from the messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) to the polysome fraction after IFN-α addition. No such shift was noted in the location of the mRNA for ^Aα-globin, the major globin product of K-562 cells, which was always present in the polysome fraction. These results are significant with respect to the mechanisms of cellular regulation and differentiation induced by IFNs.