Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) has become a well-recognized pathologic entity defined by expression of the KIT protein and often associated with gain of function mutations of the c-KIT oncogene. Imatinib, a specific inhibitor of the aberrant KIT protein, is an approved, well-tolerated oral drug for the management of metastatic or inoperable GIST. Traditional radical surgery resection for locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic GIST is associated with a poor outcome. The rationale for combining imatinib with surgery for GIST, either as an adjuvant agent in the situation of primary resection for patients at high risk or in the neoadjuvant setting for patients with locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic disease, is compelling in the continuous effort to improve disease-free and overall survival. Several clinical trials are addressing these issues as well as timing of surgery, assessment of drug response, and the addition of surgical resection in the situation of focal progressive disease on imatinib. The results of these studies will be meaningful in future standard therapy consideration.
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PMID:Combining imatinib with surgery in gastrointestinal stromal tumors: rationale and ongoing trials. 1710 Oct 65

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common nonepithelial tumor of the gastrointestinal tract. The majority of these tumors stain positive for the CD117 antigen to the KIT protein and have become a well-documented clinical entity. The dysregulated KIT protein is oncogenic and is an ideal target for imatinib, a KIT-selective inhibitor. Clinical trials of imatinib for metastatic GIST have shown either partial response or long-duration stable disease in 82% of patients. Trials addressing the efficacy of adjuvant imatinib following resection for high-risk primary GIST are awaiting results. The neoadjuvant preoperative use of imatinib to provide pharmacologic debulking and long-term disease control is also nearing completion in a clinical trial. This trial has the potential of addressing whether the combination of surgery and imatinib can enhance organ sparing, decrease drug resistance, and prolong disease-free and overall survival. The continued study of combining surgery and a target-specific agent for malignant GIST will be a valuable reference for future strategies combining surgery and targeted treatment in other solid tumors.
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PMID:Combined-modality strategy for gastrointestinal stromal tumors. 1717 93

GISTs are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms of the digestive tract and are thought to originate from or differentiate toward the interstitial cell of Cajal lineage. Almost all GISTs express KIT protein and the majority show activating mutations in either KIT or PDGFRA proto-oncogenes. Ultrastructurally, these tumors have been shown to have either a smooth muscle, neuronal, dual, or null phenotype. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between ultrastructural features and genotype in a large series of 125 histologically confirmed and CD117 positive GISTs. PCR analysis for the presence of KIT exon 9, 11, 13, and 17 and PDGFRA exon 12 and 18 mutations was performed. There were 62 (50%) tumors located in the stomach and 45 (36%) in the small bowel. Overall, KIT mutations were detected in 93 (75%) patients: 86 (69%) in exon 11, and 7 (6%) in exon 9. A PDGFRA mutation was detected in 7 (6%) cases and 25 (19%) cases had no mutation. Ultrastructurally, skeinoid fibers were seen in 55 (44%) cases and were more common in small bowel than stomach GISTs, and occurred in only in 1 of 16 patients with an ITD (KIT) exon 11 or PDGFRA mutation. Focal actin microfilaments were identified in 82 (65%) cases and did not correlate with location or mutation type. Rare neurosecretory-type granules (NS-G) were seen in 34 (27%) of cases, but were seen in most of the cells in only 5 (4%) cases. GISTs showing both NS-G and microtubules were associated with KIT exon 11 genotype and spindle cell morphology. PDGFRA mutated cases were associated with gastric location, predominantly epithelioid morphology and lacked NS-G.
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PMID:Comparative ultrastructural analysis and KIT/PDGFRA genotype in 125 gastrointestinal stromal tumors. 1718 37

Receptor tyrosine kinase aberrations are implicated in the genesis of gliomas. We investigated expression and amplification of KIT, PDGFRA, VEGFR2, and EGFR in 87 gliomas consisting of astrocytomas, anaplastic astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, or oligoastrocytomas in tumor samples collected at the time of the diagnosis and in samples of the same tumors at tumor recurrence. Gene amplifications were investigated using either chromogenic in situ hybridization or fluorescence in situ hybridization, and protein expression using immunohistochemistry. In samples collected at glioma diagnosis, KIT and PDGFRA amplifications were more frequent in anaplastic astrocytomas than in astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, and oligoastrocytomas [28% versus 5% (P = 0.012) and 33% versus 2% (P = 0.0008), respectively]. VEGFR2 amplifications occurred in 6% to 17% of the gliomas at diagnosis, and EGFR amplifications in 0% to 12%. Amplified KIT was more frequently present in recurrent gliomas than in newly diagnosed gliomas (P = 0.0066). KIT amplification was associated with KIT protein expression and with presence of PDGFRA and EGFR amplifications both at the time of the first glioma diagnosis and at tumor recurrence, and with VEGFR2 amplification at tumor recurrence. Three (4%) primary gliomas and 10 (14%) recurrent gliomas that were evaluable for coamplification of KIT, PDGFRA, and VEGFR2 showed amplification of at least two of these genes; the amplicon contained amplified KIT in all 13 cases. In conclusion, besides glioblastoma, amplified KIT, PDGFRA, and VEGFR may also occur in lower-grade gliomas and in their recurrent tumors. It is currently not known whether specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors are effective in the treatment of such gliomas.
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PMID:Amplification of KIT, PDGFRA, VEGFR2, and EGFR in gliomas. 1718 83

Ewing sarcoma is a highly malignant tumor of bone preferentially arising in children and young adults. Its 5-year survival rate is only 50% despite the use of multimodal therapeutic approaches, requiring a search for new therapeutic targets and the development of novel therapeutic modalities. KIT and PDGFRs are type III receptor tyrosine kinases, and activating mutations in c-kit (which encodes KIT) and PDGFRs have been reported as oncogenic events in many malignancies. Imatinib is a selective inhibitor of KIT, PDGFR, and ABL tyrosine kinase activity and exerts different anti-tumor effects according to the regions of mutations in c-kit and PDGFR genes. Thus, we evaluated the immunohistochemical expression of KIT protein and the mutational status of exons 9, 11, 13, and 17 of the c-kit gene, exons 12 and 18 of the PDGFRA gene, and exon 12 of the PDGFRB gene in 71 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded Ewing sarcomas to increase our understanding of the potential, if any, of imatinib treatment for this malignancy. Of the 71 samples, 27 (38%) were immunohistochemically positive for KIT; however, activating mutations in c-kit were found in only 2 of 71 Ewing sarcomas (2.6%) within exon 9. No activating mutations in the PDGFRA and PDGFRB genes were found, but pleomorphism was identified in exon 18 of the PDGFRA gene. Our results for KIT protein expression agree with those of previous studies. This is the largest series of c-kit mutational analysis in Ewing sarcoma to date, and the results definitively show that c-kit activating mutations are not coincident with KIT protein expression in Ewing sarcoma in most samples. These findings imply other mechanisms for KIT activity and leave open the question of whether imatinib would be efficacious in the treatment of Ewing sarcoma.
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PMID:Protein expression of KIT and gene mutation of c-kit and PDGFRs in Ewing sarcomas. 1729 67

KIT proto-oncogene is a receptor tyrosine kinase critical for signal transduction in several cell types. An understanding of KIT distribution in normal skin may reveal new insights into its implication in cutaneous biology and its associated disease states. This study examines expression patterns of KIT protein in normal human skin. KIT protein expression was examined in 50 specimens of normal human skin using specific antibodies (CD117) and immunoperoxidase staining methods. KIT protein expression was seen in keratinocytes (stratum basale), melanocytes, mast cells, and in both sebaceous and sweat glands. In contrast, KIT protein expression was absent in stratum spinosum, stratum granulosum, stratum corneum, blood vessels and arrector pili muscle. Thus, the expression of KIT protein in normal human skin suggests its possible role in regulation of cutaneous development and function.
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PMID:Expression of KIT receptor tyrosine kinase protein in normal human skin: preliminary observations. 1733 16

The protooncogene c-kit encoding transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor protein plays an important role in the signal transduction pathway that regulates cellular growth and repair. Gene product KIT overexpression has been shown in a number of different neoplasms, particularly in mastocytosis and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST). The morphologic similarity of uterine mesenchymal tumours and GIST, and the presence of KIT protein in normal uterine tissue, suggests that uterine sarcomas may have the same c-kit overexpression. The purpose of this study was to determine the overexpression of c-kit protein in uterine and ovarian sarcomas. Immunohistochemical staining using a polyclonal anti-c-kit antibody was performed on tissue blocks from 12 carsinosarcomas, 14 leiomyosarcomas, 8 endometrial stromal sarcomas, 2 adenosarcomas, 1 atypical leiomyoma, 1 leiomyoma with limited experience, and 10 leiomyomas. The slides were evaluated by a semiquantitative method. C-kit was positive in 10 of 12 (83%) carcinosarcomas, 10 of 14 (71%) leiomyosarcomas, 6 of 8 75(%) endometrial stromal sarcomas, 1 of 2 (50%) adenosarcomas, 1 leiomyoma with limited experience, and 1 of 10 (10%) leiomyomas. The uterine sarcomas express c-kit, like GISTs. It seems that KIT may have a significant role in the oncogenesis of mesenchymal tumours of the uterus and ovary.
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PMID:C-kit protein expression in uterine and ovarian mesenchymal tumours. 1736 65

Activating mutations in either BRAF or NRAS are seen in a significant number of malignant melanomas, but their incidence appears to be dependent to ultraviolet light exposure. Thus, BRAF mutations have the highest incidence in non-chronic sun damaged (CSD), and are uncommon in acral, mucosal and CSD melanomas. More recently, activating KIT mutations have been described in rare cases of metastatic melanoma, without further reference to their clinical phenotypes. This finding is intriguing since KIT expression is downregulated in most melanomas progressing to more aggressive lesions. In this study, we investigated a group of anal melanomas for the presence of BRAF, NRAS, KIT and PDGFRA mutations. A heterozygous KIT exon 11 L576P substitution was identified in 3 of 20 cases tested. The 3 KIT mutation-carrying tumors were strongly immunopositive for KIT protein. No KIT mutations were identified in tumors with less than 4+ KIT immunostaining. NRAS mutation was identified in one tumor. No BRAF or PDGFRA mutations were identified in either KIT positive or negative anal melanomas. In vitro drug testing of stable transformant Ba/F3 KIT(L576P) mutant cells showed sensitivity for dasatinib (previously known as BMS-354825), a dual SRC/ABL kinase inhibitor, and imatinib. However, compared to an imatinib-sensitive KIT mutant, dasatinib was potent at lower doses than imatinib in the KIT(L576P) mutant. These results suggest that a subset of anal melanomas show activating KIT mutations, which are susceptible for therapy with specific kinase inhibitors.
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PMID:L576P KIT mutation in anal melanomas correlates with KIT protein expression and is sensitive to specific kinase inhibition. 1737 1

Canine cutaneous mast cell tumor (MCT) is a common neoplastic disease in dogs. Due to the prevalence of canine MCTs and the variable biologic behavior of this disease, accurate prognostication and a thorough understanding of MCT biology are critical for the treatment of this disease. The goals of this study were to evaluate and compare the utility of the proliferation markers Ki67, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and argyrophilic nucleolar organizing region (AgNOR) as independent prognostic markers for canine MCTs and to evaluate the use of these markers in combination, as each marker assesses different aspects of cellular proliferation. An additional goal of this study was to evaluate the associations between cellular proliferation and c-KIT mutations and between cellular proliferation and aberrant KIT protein localization in canine MCTs. Fifty-six MCTs treated with surgical excision alone were included in this study. Each MCT was evaluated for Ki67 expression, PCNA expression, and KIT protein localization using immunohistochemistry; for AgNOR counts using histochemical staining; and for the presence of internal tandem duplication c-KIT mutations using polymerase chain reaction amplification. In this study, increased Ki67 and AgNOR counts were both associated with significantly decreased survival. On the basis of these results, we recommend that the evaluation of cellular proliferation, including evaluations of both Ki67 expression and AgNORs, should be routinely used in the prognostication of canine MCTs. Additionally, the results of this study show that MCTs with aberrant KIT protein localization or internal tandem duplication c-KIT mutations are associated with increased cellular proliferation, further suggesting a role for c-KIT in the progression of canine MCTs.
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PMID:Cellular proliferation in canine cutaneous mast cell tumors: associations with c-KIT and its role in prognostication. 1749 Oct 70

The tyrosine kinase KIT receptor, the protooncogene CD117, plays a key role in growth and maturation of oocytes and follicles. Relevant data are sparse for the corpus luteum (CL). We first confirmed the presence of KIT mRNA and KIT protein in bovine CL homogenates. We then localized KIT-positive (KIT+) cells in CL sections by immunohistochemistry. At the CL stage of early development, the former theca transforming into capsule/septa showed a strong band-like KIT+ immunoresponse. In addition, CD45+ leukocytes in septa included subpopulations of CD45+/KIT+ and CD14+/KIT+ leukocytes as validated by double immunofluorescence localization. At the early secretory stage, KIT+ cells appeared within the septa/capsule region and in the periphery of the CL parenchyma, there forming a complex network. This was separate from the capillary bed as determined by double staining for CD117 and FVIII-related endothelial cell antigen (FVIIIr). The KIT+ network coincided with cells positive for cytochrome P450 17alpha-hydroxylase, a thecal cell-specific enzyme. The late secretory stage was defined by an advanced manifestation of the KIT+ network in the CL periphery. At the stage of regression, the KIT+ network was absent. The CL of pregnancy expressed high levels of KIT mRNA and KIT protein uniformly throughout pregnancy. The KIT+ immunolocalization revealed small fibroblast-like cells, luteal cells with granules, and clusters of large luteal cells with staining of the cell membrane. We conclude that a majority of KIT+ cells in the bovine CL are primarily theca-derived small luteal cells, and that a minority represent KIT+ leukocytes, in some cases KIT+ monocytes.
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PMID:KIT receptor-positive cells in the bovine corpus luteum are primarily theca-derived small luteal cells. 1789 Feb 98


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