Anthracycline antitumor drugs such as aclacinomycin (ACM) and doxorubicin (DOX) used in subtoxic concentrations induce erythroid differentiation of the erythroleukemic cell line K562. To elucidate the possible role of erythroid genes of the erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) and the transcription factor GATA-1 in this effect, the regulatory regions of the above genes and human epsilon- and gamma-globin and porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD) genes were fused to the firefly luciferase gene. The resulting reporter constructs were tested in a transfection assay of the erythroleukemic cell line K562 stimulated to differentiate by treatment with the anthracycline drugs ACM and DOX or hemin (HEM). The results showed activation of the tested promoters after cell treatment with ACM, but not with DOX or HEM. In contrast to the mouse EpoR gene promoter, the activity of the human EpoR gene promoter (-659/-60) in the reporter construct was not modified by addition of the first intron sequence. In ACM-treated K562 cells, EpoR gene promoter activity completely correlated with EpoR and GATA-1 mRNA levels and the degree of erythroid maturation. In addition, ACM strongly activated the erythroid gene promoters that contain GATA binding sites. Nevertheless, less activation was also observed for the GATA-1 gene promoter (-312/-31) lacking any known GATA binding sites. Insertion of the GATA-1 gene enhancer with two canonic GATA binding sites, stimulated the ACM activation effect for EpoR and GATA-1 promoter-containing constructs. Mutation of the enhancer GATA binding sites abolished this effect. All the regulatory regions tested (except gamma-globin promoter) were completely inactive in nonerythroid COS7 cells. These data indicate that (1) two structurally different anthracycline analogues, DOX and ACM, differ in their differentiation mechanisms, and (2) ACM switches on the erythroid program of K562 cells, at least in part because of interaction with a factor(s) that recognizes the GATA binding sites in the promoter region of erythroid genes leading to their activation.