TF-1 from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC)

The TF-1 cell line was established by T. Kitamura, et al. in October 1987 from a heparinized bone marrow aspiration sample from a 35 year old Japanese male with severe pancytopenia.The cells are completely dependent on interleukin 3 (IL-3) or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) for long term growth. The cells DO NOT RESPOND to interleukin 5 (IL-5).TF-1 cells respond to a variety of other lymphokines and cytokines such as interleukin 1 (IL-1), interleukin 4 (IL-4), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 9 (IL-9),Interleukin 11 (IL-11), interleukin 13 (IL-13), stem cell factor (SCF), leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and nerve growth factor (NGF).TF-1 cells do not express glycophorin A or carbonyl anhydrase I.The morphological and cytochemical features, and the constitutive expression of globin genes, indicate the commitment of the cells to the erythroid lineage. Hemin and delta-aminolevulinic acid induce hemoglobin synthesis, and TPA induces dramatic differentiation of the TF-1 cells into macrophage-like cells. The TF-1 cell line is unique because of its responsiveness to multiple cytokines and provides a good system for investigating the proliferation and differentiation of myeloid progenitor cells.