Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P10721 (c-kit)
 6,575 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Miniature swine are being used as a large animal model in which cultured and retrovirus-transduced hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) can be tested in a reproducible manner for their long-term in vivo repopulating ability. As part of these studies, long-term bone marrow culture (LTBMC) and progenitor colony assay systems were developed and used to characterize the in vitro growth potential and in vivo frequency of hematopoietic progenitors in this species. We found that LTBMCs initiated with a single marrow inoculum produced myeloid colony progenitors continuously for at least 7 weeks. The sites of myelopoietic activity in these cultures were uniquely restricted to isolated, morphologically diverse germinal centers rather than more disperse cobblestone patches. We also used the progenitor assay to screen several human and murine recombinant cytokines for cross-reactivity to swine bone marrow cells, including interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-6, Il-11, granulocyte and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF and GM-CSF), c-kit ligand (also called mast cell growth factor [MGF]), and erythropoietin (Epo). With the exception of human and murine IL-3, each of the cytokines tested induced swine progenitor colony formation to varying degrees, with some combinations leading to the formation of primitive multilineage and high proliferative potential colonies. Finally, in an attempt to characterize alternative sources of HSC from swine, we compared the progenitor content of adult and juvenile swine bone marrow and fetal liver. The fetal liver samples were found to be highly enriched for both primitive and mature progenitors, while analysis of postnatal marrow samples revealed an approximately two-fold decline in overall progenitor frequency between the ages of 10 and 20 weeks. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the development and use of in vitro culture methods for characterizing hematopoietic elements from miniature swine and suggest a hierarchy of progenitor cell content in various hematopoietic tissues from the large animal model.
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PMID:Culture and characterization of hematopoietic progenitor cells from miniature swine. 869 52

The clonal growth of progenitor cells from myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) can be subdivided into four growth patterns: (1) normal, (2) no growth or low plating efficiency, (3) low colony and high cluster number, and (4) normal or high colony number with a large number of clusters. The former two (1 and 2) can be referred to as nonleukemic patterns and latter two (3 and 4) as leukemic. In a search for a role for cytokines in leukemic-type growth of MDS progenitor cells, marrow CD34+ cells were purified up to 94% for 8 normal individuals and 88% for 12 MDS patients, using monoclonal antibodies and immunomagnetic microspheres (MDS CD34+ cells). The purified CD34+ cells were cultured for 14 days with various combinations of cytokines, including recombinant human macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rM-CSF), granulocyte-CSF (rG-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage-CSF (rGM-CSF), interleukin-3 (rIL-3), and stem cell factor (SCF; a ligand for c-kit) in serum-free medium. The clonal growth of MDS CD34+ cells supported by a combination of all of the above cytokines was subdivided into the two patterns of leukemic or nonleukemic, and then the role of individual or combined cytokines in proliferation and differentiation of MDS CD34+ cells was analyzed in each group. Evidence we obtained showed that SCF plays a central role in the leukemic-type growth of MDS CD34+ cells and that G-CSF, GM-CSF; and/or IL-3 synergize with SCF to increase undifferentiated blast cell colonies and clusters over that seen in normal CD34+ cells. SCF is present in either normal or MDS plasma at a level of nanograms per milliliter, and this physiologic concentration of SCF can stimulate progenitor cells. This means that progenitor cells are continuously exposed to stimulation by SCF in vivo and that MDS leukemic cells have a growth advantage over normal blast cells. This depends, at least in part, on cytokines such as G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-3, and SCF.
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PMID:Role of cytokines in leukemic type growth of myelodysplastic CD34+ cells. 870 90

The recently cloned ligand for the flt-3/flk-2 receptor was examined for its effect on colony formation by subpopulations of CD34+ cells including the least mature CD34+lin-CD38- small-medium lymphocyte-sized cell population. Flt-3 ligand (flt-3l) had little or no effect when added alone to cells. Isolated CD34+lin+ cells formed increased numbers of colony-forming cells (CFC) when flt-3l was added together with IL-3, IL-6, G-CSF, GM-CSF or c-kit ligand (KL), or with the combination of IL-3 and KL. Significant increases in CFC formation from CD34+lin- cells were consistently seen when flt-3l was added to the IL-3 and KL combination, with variable effects observed when it was added to individual growth factors. Studies of the generation of CFC from CD34+lin- cells in liquid cultures showed that cultures containing IL-3 and KL continued to produce CFC after 3 weeks of culture, whereas cultures with IL-3, KL and flt-3l produced few CFC past 2 weeks of culture. Flt-3l alone or the combination of IL-3 and KL did not stimulate significant growth of CD34+lin-CD38- small-medium lymphocyte-sized cells, although these cells reproducibly generated CFC when grown in the combination of IL-1 beta, IL-3, IL-6, G-CSF, GM-CSF and KL. Addition of flt-3l to either IL-3 and KL or to a combination of growth factors induced increased CFC in three of four experiments. These data therefore demonstrate a role for flt-3l in the induction of myelopoiesis by haemopoietic precursors, including the least mature subpopulation population of CD34+ cells.
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PMID:Regulation of colony forming cell generation by flt-3 ligand. 875 3

The effect of the mast cell growth factor (MGF), also known as stem cell factor, steel factor, and kit ligand, alone or in combination with other GFs on clonogenic blast cell growth in 23 patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) was investigated. MGF alone enhanced colony formation by about 35%, being clearly stimulatory (> 20% increase in colony numbers) in nine patients. The additive effect of MGF on colony growth was observed in combination with interleukin-3 (IL-3). Preincubation of the cells with MGF in suspension did not sensitize them to the effect of IL-3, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), G-CSF, or IL-4 in a clonogenic cell culture assay. Although almost all the blast cell samples expressed the c-kit the receptor for MGF, at the mRNA and/or the protein level, the cells did not necessarily respond to exogenous MGF. On the other hand, blast cells were able to respond to exogenous MGF even when the cells themselves expressed MGF. Neither the expression of MGF nor the response of blast cells to exogenous MGF was related to the capability of the cells to form colonies spontaneously. In conclusion, MGF alone, but especially combined with IL-3, was a potent growth factor for clonogenic blast cells in AML. Autocrine production of MGF by AML blast cells analyzed at the mRNA level was not related to autonomous growth of the cells.
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PMID:Effect of mast cell growth factor on clonogenic blast cell growth in acute myelogenous leukemia. 877 15

Long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC) are arguably the most primitive human hematopoietic cells detectable by in vitro functional assays. We have investigated the mobilization of these cells into the blood of patients with ovarian carcinoma randomized to receive granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF; 5 micrograms/kg) plus different doses of stem cell factor (SCF; c-kit ligand) after chemotherapy or G-CSF alone after chemotherapy. We have shown a significant SCF dose response for the mobilization of LTC-IC, with a 5.8-fold increase in LTC-IC mobilization in those patients receiving chemotherapy, G-CSF, and 20 micrograms/kg of SCF, the highest dose used, compared with the patients receiving chemotherapy and G-CSF alone. We have shown a threefold increase in CD34+ cells and up to a 64-fold increase in CD34+/33- cells was seen in patients treated with chemotherapy, G-CSF, and 20 micrograms/kg of SCF compared with those patients treated with chemotherapy and G-CSF alone. However, significant numbers of CD34+/38- cells were only found in the patients receiving 20 micrograms/kg of SCF as part of their mobilization regimen. Patients receiving chemotherapy plus G-CSF and SCF have enhanced mobilization of primitive cells and of the more committed progenitor cells compared with those patients receiving chemotherapy followed by G-CSF alone.
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PMID:Increased numbers of long-term culture-initiating cells in the apheresis product of patients randomized to receive increasing doses of stem cell factor administered in combination with chemotherapy and a standard dose of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. 889 96

Dendritic cells (DC) are the most efficient APC for T cells. The clinical use of DC as vectors for anti-tumor and infectious disease immunotherapy has been limited by their trace levels and accessibility in normal tissue and terminal state of differentiation. In the present study, daily injection of human Flt3 ligand (Flt3L) into mice results in a dramatic numerical increase in cells co-expressing the characteristic DC markers-class II MHC, CD11c, DEC205, and CD86. In contrast, in mice treated with either GM-CSF, GM-CSF plus IL-4, c-kit ligand (c-kitL), or G-CSF, class II+ CD11c+ cells were not significantly increased. Five distinct DC subpopulations were identified in the spleen of Flt3L-treated mice using CD8 alpha and CD11b expression. These cells exhibited veiled and dendritic processes and were as efficient as rare, mature DC isolated from the spleens of untreated mice at presenting allo-Ag or soluble Ag to T cells, or in priming an Ag-specific T cell response in vivo. Dramatic numerical increases in DC were detected in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal lymphoid tissue (GALT), liver, lymph nodes, lung, peripheral blood, peritoneal cavity, spleen, and thymus. These results suggest that Flt3L could be used to expand the numbers of functionally mature DC in vivo for use in clinical immunotherapy.
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PMID:Dramatic increase in the numbers of functionally mature dendritic cells in Flt3 ligand-treated mice: multiple dendritic cell subpopulations identified. 892 Aug 82

Developments in the characterization of growth factors and the recognition of their potential for clinical use has advanced through a number of stages. The development of clonogenic haemopoietic colony assays in the 1960s led to the discovery of colony-stimulating activity in the conditioned medium produced by certain cell lines. This activity was then purified and the colony-stimulating factors were identified. With rapid progress in molecular biology techniques in the 1980s, many further growth factors were cloned and produced on an industrial scale. Although erythropoietin, interferons, G-CSF, GM-CSF and IL-2 were all introduced into clinical practice as single agents, cytokines have more recently been investigated for use either in combination, or sequentially. Clinical trials are currently in progress to examine the optimum combinations and timing of administration. Current clinical applications include optimization of methods for mobilization of peripheral blood progenitor cells and amelioration of cytopenias following chemotherapy and bone-marrow transplantation. In the future, cytokines will be employed to expand stem and progenitor cells ex vivo, to improve gene transduction strategies, possibly to protect the gastrointestinal epithelium and as immunomodulators, both in vivo and in vitro. This review will focus on recently characterized growth factors including c-kit ligand/stem cell factor, flt3 ligand, c-mpl ligand/thrombopoietin and interleukins-11, 4, 7, 10, 12 and 13.
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PMID:Cytokines at the research-clinical interface: potential applications. 893 32

Bone marrow microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC) are a functional component of the bone marrow stroma and have been shown to release hematopoietic regulatory factors as well as to selectively adhere and support the proliferation and differentiation of CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors. An early passage of these cells was immortalized by transfection with a vector (pSVT) encoding the large T antigen of SV40. The transformed cell line (CDC/CU.BMEC-1) expresses the SV40 transcript, retains the primary cell expression of Ulex europeaus and vWF/ FVIII, and incorporates acetylated low-density lipoprotein. In addition, BMEC-1 mirrors the phenotype of the primary cells with only a few exceptions. Both cell populations express the cellular adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and PECAM and also VCAM-1 and ELAM-1 after upregulation by tumor necrosis factor-alpha. The fibronectin receptor, hyaluronate receptor, collagen receptor, integrins VLA-alpha 3, VLA-alpha 4, and beta 4, endoglin, collagen IV, CD58, and CD61 are also expressed. The only differences are that BMEC-1 expresses higher levels of ICAM-1, CD58, CD34, CD36, and c-kit than the primary cells. The supernatants of primary cell and BMEC-1 contain stem cell factor, interleukin-6 (IL-6), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), IL-1 alpha, IL-11, and G-CSF. The functional significance of these hematopoietic cytokines was demonstrated in transwell cultures. Both cell populations supported the expansion of progeny from CD34+ cell-enriched cord blood mononuclear cells suspended in the upper chamber. These characteristics, plus the fact that BMEC-1 can be maintained independently of exogenous growth factors and exhibit contact inhibition, indicate that this cell line can be used to further define the role of BMEC in hematopoiesis.
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PMID:BMEC-1: a human bone marrow microvascular endothelial cell line with primary cell characteristics. 895 64

We have investigated the functional characteristics of peripheral blood-derived CD34+ cells mobilized by a combination of chemotherapy and G-CSF (mobilized peripheral blood-derived [MPB] CD34+ cells). In this study, subpopulations of MPB CD34+ cells have been directly compared in clonal cultures, long-term cultures with bone marrow (BM) stromal cells, and single-cell cultures. MPB CD34+ cells could be subdivided by expression levels of HLA-DR (DR), CD38, CD33 and c-kit antigens. The majority of MPB CD34+ cells expressed DR and CD38 antigens. In contrast, approximately 60% and 20% of the MPB CD34+ cells expressed CD33 and c-kit antigens, respectively. Interestingly, MPB CD34+ cells can be subdivided into three fractions which express high, low or negative levels of c-kit receptor. All types of committed progenitors were observed in populations of CD34+DR+, CD34+DR-, CD34+CD33-, CD34+CD38+ and CD34+ c-kit(low) cells. Colony forming unit-granulocyte/macrophage was highly enriched in the population of CD34+CD33+ cells, whereas BFU-E was highly enriched in the population of CD34+ c-kit(high) cells. In the population of CD34+CD38- cells, however, a few myeloid progenitors were detected. In addition, limiting dilution analyses clearly showed that the long-term culture-initiating cell (LTC-IC) is enriched in the populations of CD34+DR-, CD34+CD33- and CD34+c-kit-(or low) cells, but very few in CD34+ c-kit(high) cells, and that CD38 antigen is not a useful marker for the enrichment of LTC-IC derived from MPB CD34+ cells. Moreover, single cell clone sorting experiments clearly demonstrated the functional differences between CD34+CD38+ and CD34+CD38- cells as well as CD34+ cells expressing different levels of c-kit receptor. Our results suggest that an immunophenotype of LTC-IC is different between BM-, cord blood- and MPB-derived CD34+ cells and that primitive and committed progenitors existing in these sources may be functionally different.
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PMID:Functional differences between subpopulations of mobilized peripheral blood-derived CD34+ cells expressing different levels of HLA-DR, CD33, CD38 and c-kit antigens. 900 25

The murine cell line SR-4987 was originated in our laboratory from adherent cells of a long term bone marrow culture. SR-4987 cells do not express p21-ras and c-fms products on membrane whereas secrete M-CSF, evidence a fibroblast-like morphology and are vimentine positive. This line shows a very poor "in vitro" agar clonogenicity which is not modulated by the addition of different cytokines and growth factors (M-CSF, GM-CSF, G-CSF, IL-3, IL-7, alpha-TNF, PDGF, and EGF). On the contrary, a dramatic increase in clonogenicity is observed in the presence of bFGF. The RT-PCR investigation evidences the mRNA encoding for bFGF, IL-7, GM-CSF, and SCF (c-kit ligand). The analysis of CD antigen expression on SR-4987 cell membrane indicates a phenotype (CD5+, CD44+, 45R(B220)+, sIg+, 5'-nucleotidase+) that is consistent with a B cell feature. Our observations suggest that exogenous bFGF might represent an appropriate stimulus for inducing the SR-4987 cells proliferation also in the absence of cell-substrate anchorage. Further, they indicate that SR-4987 cells could represent a particular differentiation stage in which characters of "stromal cell" and "B cell" are coexpressed in agreement with the hypothesis of a common stromal-hematopoietic differentiation.
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PMID:Expression of B cell markers on SR-4987 cells derived from murine bone marrow stroma. 919 33


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