Perlecan is a modular heparan sulfate proteoglycan that harbors five domains with homology to the low density lipoprotein receptor, epidermal growth factor, laminin and neural cell adhesion molecule. Using a monoclonal antibody directed against the laminin-like domain of perlecan, we have recently shown that perlecan is widely expressed in all lymphoreticular systems. To investigate further this observation we have studied the expression of perlecan in two human leukemic cell lines. Using reverse transcriptase-PCR, ribonuclease protection assay, and metabolic labeling we detected significant perlecan expression in the multipotential cell line K562, originally derived from a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia. In contrast, the promyelocytic cell line HL-60 expressed perlecan at barely detectable levels. These results were intriguing because the K562 cells do not assemble or produce a classical basement membrane. Following induction with either sodium butyrate or the phorbol diester 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), K562 and HL-60 differentiate into early progenitor cells with erythroid or megakaryocytic properties, respectively. Following treatment of K562 and HL-60 cells with either of these agents, perlecan expression was markedly increased in K562 cells. In contrast, we could detect perlecan protein synthesis in HL-60 cells only at very low levels, even after induction with TPA or sodium butyrate. Collectively, these results indicate that perlecan is actively synthesized by bone marrow derived cells and suggest that this proteoglycan may play a role in hematopoietic cell differentiation.