MEL cells for heme synthesis

Murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells have frequently been employed to study various aspects of heme synthesis. They are a convenient model since they are erythroid precursors whose erythroid program is arrested just prior to the induction of hemesynthesis, and this arrest can be relieved by treatment of the cells with a variety of compounds, including dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or butyric acid.
MEL cell strain DS-19 was cultured at 37°C and 5% CO2 in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum (FBS). Cells were induced with 2% (vol/vol) DMSO as described previously (Conder, L. H., Woodard, S. I., and Dailey, H. A. (1991) Biochem.J. 275, 321–326). In some experiments, effectors were added to cultured cells 24 h prior to induction. The harvested cells were suspended in warm freshmedium containing 2% DMSO and effectors (where appropriate) and allowed to continue incubation.