Induction of TrkA receptor by retinoic acid in leukaemia cell lines

To explore the potential involvement of neurotrophins in the actions of retinoic acid (RA) on leukaemia differentiation, we examined the ability of RA to regulate the expression of neurotrophins and Trk receptors in several leukaemia cell lines. Expression of TrkA was dramatically induced by RA at both the mRNA and protein level in leukaemia cell lines K562 and KG-1. Furthermore, while no expression of trkB and trkC was detected, constitutive expression of nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-3 and neurotrophin-4/5 could be detected in leukemia cells. Our findings suggested that NGF/trkA may potentially be involved in the RA-induced differentiation of leukemia cells.