[2] Due to the relative uniformity of expanded cultures and lower maintenance requirements these cells have been since used as an important tool for studying phagocyte differentiation and different kinds of cell-to-cell interactions.
[3] U-937 cells are of myeloid lineage and thus secrete a large number of cytokines and chemokines either constitutively (e.g., IL-1 and GM-CSF) or in response to soluble stimuli.
[3] Induction of differentiation of U-937 into monocytes or macrophages can be achieved by various agents such as PMA (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate), retinoic acids, vitamin D3 (1,25- dihydroxyvitamin D3) or TPA (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol13-acetate).
One of the traits that are especially worth studying is their ability of ROS (reactive oxygen species) generation as a part of non-specific immune response.
Prasad et al. (2020) present the current possibilities of ROS imaging in these cells via electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy.
It was documented that the basic molecular processes (degradation of DNA, PS externalization, caspase activity or CytC release) following the induction of apoptosis are not drastically changed in these cells.