Butyric acid, a potent inducer of erythroid differentiation in cultured erythroleukemic cells.

Butyric acid is an unusually potent inducer of erythroid differentiation in cultured erythroleukemic cells. It is effective at one hundredth the concentration required of dimethylsulfoxide, a most effective inducing agent. Studies using a variety of analogues and metabolites suggest that the structural features of butyric acid are rather stringently required for induction. This effect is considered in view of the fact that butyric acid is a naturally occurring fatty acid, is effective in relatively low concentrations, and is widely used to form derivatives of cAMP.