The factor-independent Dami/HEL and Meg-01 and factor-dependent Mo7e leukemic cell lines were used as models to investigate JAK/STAT signal transduction pathways in leukemic cell proliferation. Although Dami/HEL and Meg-01 cell proliferation in vitro was independent of and unresponsive to exogenous cytokines including granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-6, thrombopoietin (TPO), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), the growth of Mo7e cells was dependent on hematopoietic growth factors. When these cell lines were cultured in medium without cytokines, a constitutively activated STAT-like DNA-binding factor was detected in nuclear extracts from both Dami/HEL and Meg-01 cells. However, the STAT-like factor was not detectable in untreated Mo7e cells, but was activated transiently in Mo7e cells in response to cytokine treatments. The constitutively activated and cytokine-induced STAT-like DNA-binding factor in these three cell lines was identified as STAT5 by oligonucleotide competition gel mobility assays and by specific anti-STAT antibody gel supershift assays. Constitutive activation of JAK2 also was detected in the factor-independent cell lines, but not in Mo7e cells without cytokine exposure. Meg-01 cells express a p185 BCR/ABL oncogene, which may be responsible for the constitutive activation of STAT5. Dami/HEL cells do not express the BCR/ABL oncogene, but increased constitutive phosphorylation of Raf-1 oncoprotein was detected. In cytokine bioassays using growth factor-dependent Mo7e and TF-1 cells as targets, conditioned media from Dami/HEL and Meg-01 cells did not show stimulatory effects on cell proliferation. Our results indicate that the constitutive activation of JAK2/STAT5 correlates with the factor-independent growth of Dami/HEL and Meg-01 cells. The constitutive activation of JAK2/STAT5 in Dami/HEL cells is triggered by a mechanism other than autocrine cytokines or the BCR/ABL oncoprotein.