K-562 nuclear extract (TPA stimulated)

Active Motif's K-562 nuclear extract (TPA stimulated) was prepared from a cell culture of the K-562 human myelogenous leukaemia cell line. The K-562 cell line was originally derived from immortalized erythroleukaemia cells obtained from a patient with a Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia in blast crisis. These pluripotent cells are widely applicable in research due to their ability to spontaneously differentiate into erythrocyte, granulocyte and monocyte progenitors. K-562 cells are also frequently utilized in in vitro natural killer (NK) cell assays as highly sensitive targets since they lack the expression of MHC class I molecules required for protection against NK activity. Treatment of K-562 cells with the potent tumor-promoting phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) leads to various biological changes that mimic those observed in cells transformed by chemical carcinogens or viruses. Tumor promoters such as TPA are thought to play a significant role in the critical first step in multistage tumorigenesis known as tumor conversion. Treatment of K-562 cells with TPA leads to induction of megakaryocytic differentiation and decreased susceptibility to NK activity. Thus, TPA stimulated K-562 cells are frequently utilized in cancer research as a model system for studying the radiomimetic and tumor-promoting effects of TPA on the differentiation stage of human malignant cells.