To verify the differential expression of non-
metastasis cell 3 (NME3)
protein in HL-60 cells when they were induced to differentiate into monocyte and granulocyte like cells, and study its value in diagnosis of
acute myeloid leukemia,
all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and a new steroidal
drug NSC67657 were employed to induce
acute myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells into monocyte and granulocyte like cells. Then the cell differentiating direction was observed by chemical staining, the degree of differentiation was determined by
surface antigen CD11b/CD14 detection, and the apoptosis was excluded by
phosphatidylserine valgus analysis, by which cellular differentiating model was constructed. Furthermore, RT-PCR and Western blot were employed to verify the differentially expression of NME3 before and after differentiation of HL-60 cells. At last, samples from bone marrow nucleated cells of 26 patients with
myeloid leukemia, which were diagnosed definitely by clinical doctors, and 5 normal people were chosen. Then the expressing trend of NME3
protein in these testing groups was analyzed by means of comparison. The results showed that ATRA (2 µmol/L for 5 d) and
NSC67657 (10 µmol/L for 5 d) could induce HL-60 cells to differentiate into monocyte and granulocyte like cells above 90% without cell apoptosis. The expression of NME3 gene and
protein were down-regulated by the inducers, which was accorded with the screening results that was got using proteomics technology in the former research. The expression of NME3
protein in bone marrow from
acute myeloid leukemia patients was elevated significantly as compared to normal persons. It is concluded that the expression level of NME3
protein is down-regulated after cellular differentiation, according with the changing trend in
leukemia patients, which imply that NME3
protein may be a potential
biomarker for diagnosis of
acute myeloid leukemia.