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

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), as well as the hyperplastic lesions of intestinal neural tissue and its supporting structures, is a gastrointestinal complication of type 1 neurofibromatosis (NF1) (von Recklinghausen's disease). In the present study, we analyzed the histologic and immunohistochemical features, and the c-kit and PDGFRA gene mutations of 36 GISTs derived from 9 NF1 patients. Distinctively, multiple GISTs arose preferentially in the small intestine. The histologic features of NF1-associated GISTs are almost similar to those of non-NF1 GISTs, but characteristically most of the NF1-associated GISTs contained skeinoid fibers. Thirty-three GISTs (92%) showed immunoreactivity for KIT, and 23 tumors (64%) showed diffuse or mosaic-like immunoreactivity for S-100 protein. Hyperplasic lesions, which may be the hyperplasia of interstitial cells of Cajal, were observed around some GISTs. Exons 9, 11, 13, and 17 of the c-kit gene and exons 12 and 18 of the PDGFRA gene were amplified and directly sequenced. Point mutations of c-kit gene or PDGFRA gene were identified only in three (8%) and two (6%) tumors, respectively. NF1-associated GISTs, showing the dual differentiation of interstitial cells of Cajal and Schwann cells, develop in close association with the myenteric nerve structure of gastrointestinal tract of NF1 patients. The point mutations of c-kit and PDGFRA gene may play a limited role in the tumorigenesis of NF1-associated GISTs.
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PMID:Gastrointestinal stromal tumors of neurofibromatosis type I (von Recklinghausen's disease). 1589 42

In the small intestine, interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) surrounding the myenteric plexus generate the pacemaking slow waves that are essential for an efficient intestinal transit. The underlying molecular mechanisms of the slow wave are poorly known. KIT is currently the sole practical marker for ICC. Attempts to purify living ICC have so far largely failed, due to the loss of the KIT epitope during enzymatic dissociation. Aiming to identify and isolate living ICC, we designed a knock-in strategy to express a fluorescent tag in KIT-expressing cells by inserting the sequence of the novel green fluorescent protein ZsGreen into the first exon of the c-Kit gene, creating a null allele called W(ZsGreen). In the gastrointestinal tract of heterozygous W(ZsGreen)/+ mice, tiny ZsGreen fluorescent dots were observed in all KIT-expressing ICC populations, with exception of ICC at the deep muscular plexus in small intestine. During development of the gastrointestinal tract, ZsGreen expression followed KIT expression in a spatiotemporal way. Stellate and basket KIT-expressing cells in the molecular layer of the cerebellum also exhibited ZsGreen dots, whereas no ZsGreen was detected in skin, testis, and bone marrow. ZsGreen dot-containing intestinal cells could be isolated from jejunum and maintained alive in culture for at least 3 days. ZsGreen is a suitable alternative to EGFP in transgenic animals. The novel W(ZsGreen)/+ model reported here appears to be a promising tool for live studies of KIT-expressing cells in the gastrointestinal tract and cerebellum and for the further analysis of pacemaker mechanisms.
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PMID:WZsGreen/+: a new green fluorescent protein knock-in mouse model for the study of KIT-expressing cells in gut and cerebellum. 1595 16

Systemic mastocytosis is characterized by abnormal mast cell proliferation in different organs. The 2001 consensus classification distinguishes in separate categories indolent systemic mastocytosis, systemic mastocytosis with concomitant blood disease, aggressive systemic mastocytosis and mast cell leukemia. Clinical manifestations are caused by tissue infiltration by proliferating mastocytes and by release of mediators. The principal organs affected are the skin, bones, digestive tract, liver, spleen and lymph nodes. Diagnosis of mastocytosis is based on appropriate stains (Giemsa, toluidine blue) and immunophenotype features (tryptase, CD117, also known as c-KIT and stem cell factor receptor). Serum tryptase levels reflect the total mast cell burden. Treatment must prevent release of mast cell mediators (histamine antagonists, cromolyn sodium, corticosteroids, or leukotriene-receptor inhibitors), limit bone involvement (bisphosphonates) and reduce the number of circulating mast cells (interferon, cladribine, or tyrosine kinase inhibitors). Enhanced understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms (mutation of c-kit and platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha has led to the development of targeted treatments, including new inhibitors of tyrosine kinase and of nuclear factor Kappa B.
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PMID:[Systemic mastocytosis]. 1598 48

Renal chromophobe cell carcinomas (ChCC) and oncocytomas express KIT. This character seems to reflect their common histogenesis from distal nephrons. In the normal kidney, however, the expression and localization of KIT are unclear. KIT expression in angiomyolipoma and congenital mesoblastic nephroma (CMN), is still controversial. c-kit mutations are reportedly rare in ChCC, but there is little information in other renal neoplasms, and no reported data on mutations of platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR). In order to address these issues the authors examined five ChCC, five oncocytomas, seven papillary cell carcinomas, two collecting duct carcinomas, 12 angiomyolipomas, and three CMN, as well as 10 normal renal tissues. In the normal kidney KIT was specifically expressed in the distal nephrons. Nine of 12 (75%) angiomyolipomas contained scattered KIT-positive cells, whereas all three CMN were completely negative for KIT. The presence of KIT-positive cells in angiomyolipomas was likely to correspond to that of melanocytic marker-positive cells, which mainly showed epithelioid morphology. Polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism showed no evidence of mutations of c-kit or PDGFR in any of the tumors examined.
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PMID:KIT expression in normal and neoplastic renal tissues: immunohistochemical and molecular genetic analysis. 1599 75

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs): clinical and pathological features. The gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. With immunohistochemical, electron microscope and molecular examinations they can be clearly distinguished in both their genotype and phenotype from other mesenchymal tumors. GIST tumors express the CD 117 receptor in more than 90% independent of histopathological features and clinical behaviour. This is why it is considered as the most important characteristic. The incidence is 10-20 new cases per 1 million annually. The number of incidents is expected to increase by the establishment of CD117 and other new markers (protein kinase C theta, DOG1). Nowadays the establishment of the expected biological behavior and malignancy can be difficult. The best prognostic factors are the tumor size and the mitotic index. Dominantly, due to the mutation of the c-kit proto-oncogene and PGDFRA gene that the high level tyrosine kinase activity generates resulting uncontrolled proliferation and cell growth. The imatinib mesylate is a selective inhibitor of the KIT tyrosine kinase receptor and it also blocks the activity of the PDGFRA kinase. The therapeutic consequence of this is that the majority of advanced GIST tumors which do not react to conventional radio- and chemotherapy respond well to tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment. As a result, survival and patient's quality of life can significantly improve.
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PMID:[Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs): clinical and pathological features]. 1605 79

Mutations of proto-oncogene c-kit in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are considered to cause a constitutive activation of KIT responsible for their oncogenesis. Imatinib has therapeutic potential for GISTs because of its inhibitory effect on KIT kinase activity. However, no study has been published concerning the effects of imatinib on GIST cells with various types of KIT mutation. To investigate the effects of imatinib on various c-kit mutations found in GISTs, cell proliferation and apoptosis assays were performed in two GIST cell lines with different KIT mutations. One of the cell lines, GIST-T1, revealed a heterozygous deletion of exon 11 in the c-kit, while the other cell line, GIST882, possessed a homozygous missense mutation of exon 13 in the c-kit gene. Imatinib inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in both cell lines. Imatinib potently suppressed proliferation of the GIST882 cell line at the concentration of 1.0 microM, whereas it inhibited the GIST-T1 at 0.1 microM. In two types of activating mutant KIT, imatinib could inhibit the constitutive activation of both types of KIT mutant, although the antiproliferative effect on GIST882 was weaker than on GIST-T1. Western blot analysis revealed that apoptosis related proteins were activated or suppressed by imatinib in both cell lines in the respective manner. Our results suggest that the apoptotic signal trans-duction caused by imatinib in GISTs is susceptible to various types of KIT mutation.
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PMID:Effects of imatinib vary with the types of KIT-mutation in gastrointestinal stromal tumor cell lines. 1607 68

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) historically have differed from other soft-tissue sarcomas in demonstrating a particularly grim prognosis. GISTs have an extraordinarily high rate of recurrence after surgical resection and are highly resistant to radiation and standard chemotherapy. The discovery that constitutive activation of the c-kit gene drives malignant behavior in GISTs exposed a weakness that was soon exploited through the application of the novel targeted therapy imatinib, a small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor of Bcr-Abl, KIT, and the platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha and -beta. Imatinib had shown unparalleled results in patients with advanced chronic myelogenous leukemia (remission rates approaching 98%), and the first GIST patients treated with imatinib demonstrated dramatic response rates unseen with other therapeutic modalities. Thousands of patients worldwide with advanced GIST have been treated with imatinib, with the demonstration of significant response rates, prolongation of survival, and improvement in quality of life. Studies of imatinib in both the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings are now being conducted to evaluate whether low rates of cure with surgical resection alone can be improved. Additionally, multiple new targeted agents are being tested in patients with imatinib-resistant GIST. The gains that have been made in the treatment of GIST through the use of imatinib have helped to open the door to a new era of development of targeted therapeutic agents in oncology. Whether this new era of targeted therapy will provide the same advances in more common malignancies will be determined only through the ongoing application and development of clinical trials.
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PMID:Gastrointestinal stromal tumors and the evolution of targeted therapy. 1616 51

We investigated the expression of KIT (product of c-kit oncogene), gain-of-function mutations, and activation of its downstream signal transduction in human testicular cancers. KIT was expressed in 88% (22/25) of seminomas and in 44.4% (4/9) of non-seminomas compared to adjacent normal testicular tissue. Nine of the KIT-expressing seminomas had mutations (40.9%; 9/22) in the c-kit gene; two cases in exon 11 and 7 cases in exon 17. Two of these mutations in exon 17 were novel, and the other seven mutations were identical to the already known gain-of-function mutations which cause activation of KIT without ligand stem cell factor. All of the mutant KIT and 53.8% (7/13) of wild-type KIT were phosphorylated (activated) and associated with phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). Akt was also phosphorylated in these seminomas, suggesting that the KIT-PI3K-Akt pathway is activated in seminoma. These findings suggest that the KIT-PI3K-Akt pathway is constitutively activated in testicular germ cell tumors, due to overexpression of KIT protein and/or gain-of-function mutations in the c-kit gene.
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PMID:KIT (c-kit oncogene product) pathway is constitutively activated in human testicular germ cell tumors. 1618 33

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) serves as a chaperone for a number of cell signaling proteins, including many tyrosine and serine/threonine kinases, which are involved in proliferation and/or survival. The benzoquinone ansamycin geldanamycin has been shown to bind to Hsp90 and to specifically inhibit this chaperone's function, resulting in client protein destabilization. 17-Allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG) is a chemical derivative of geldanamycin. KIT is the receptor for stem cell factor (SCF) and required for normal hematopoiesis. Mutations in c-Kit result in ligand-independent tyrosine kinase activity and uncontrolled cell proliferation. Kasumi-1 is t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell line harboring mutated KIT with Asn822Lys substitution. Our present studies demonstrate that 17-AAG inhibits Kasumi-1 cells proliferation and exerts apoptosis- and differentiation-inducing effects in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The growth-inhibitory IC50 value for 17-AAG treatment is 0.62mumol/L. Characteristic apoptotic features were confirmed by morphology, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, and annexin V staining. 17-AAG also causes the G0/G1 block of Kasumi-1 cells. Significantly, 17-AAG-induced apoptosis of Kasumi-1 cells is associated with a decline in KIT protein level. Our findings strongly suggest that 17-AAG might be an effective therapeutic agent targeting AML cells harboring mutated KIT.
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PMID:The Hsp90 inhibitor 17-allylamide-17-demethoxygeldanamycin induces apoptosis and differentiation of Kasumi-1 harboring the Asn822Lys KIT mutation and down-regulates KIT protein level. 1621 82

Haploinsufficiency of RUNX1/AML1 is associated with familial platelet disorder with a predisposition to acute myeloid leukaemia (FPD/AML), but the causal relationship remains to be addressed experimentally. Mice heterozygous for the Runx1 null mutation, Runx1+/-, are considered to be genetically comparable with human FPD/AML patients but do not develop spontaneous leukaemia. To induce additional genetic alterations, retroviral insertional mutagenesis was employed with the use of BXH2 mice, which develop myeloid leukaemia because of the random integration of retrovirus present in the mouse. Heterozygous disruption of Runx1 in BXH2 mice resulted in a shortening of the latency period of leukaemia. In addition, BXH2-Runx1+/- mice exhibited more marked myeloid features than control mice. Moreover, the c-Kit gene, mutated in human RUNX leukaemias, was recurrently activated in BXH2-Runx1+/- mice, and a colony-forming assay revealed synergism between the Runx1+/- status and c-KIT overexpression. In conclusion, the BXH2-Runx1+/- system is a promising mouse model to investigate the mechanism of leukaemogenesis in FPD/AML.
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PMID:Haploinsufficiency of Runx1/AML1 promotes myeloid features and leukaemogenesis in BXH2 mice. 1628 42


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