Effect of inflammatory cytokines on neutrophil differentiation. HL60 cells were incubated with 1·25% dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) in the presence of interleukin (IL)‐1β (100 U/ml), IL‐6 (1 nM), IL‐21 (1 nM), tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α (100 U/ml), granulocyte‐colony stimulating factor (G‐CSF) (1 nM) and granulocyte–macrophage (GM)‐CSF (1 nM). The cells were also differentiated with 1 μM all‐trans retinoic acid (ATRA), used as a negative control for terminal maturation. After 4 days incubation, the percentages of viable (a) CD11b+CD16+ or (b) CD16+ glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐anchored 80 kD protein (GPI‐80) cells were analysed by flow cytometry. *P < 0·05; ***P < 0·001; compared to DMSO (n = 4).