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)

Steel factor (SF), also referred to as Kit ligand, stem cell factor, or mast cell growth factor, is essential for the development of hematopoietic stem cells in vivo. It is shown here that SF is mainly a survival factor for hemopoietic cells with little if any proliferative effect. In contrast, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) acts both as a survival factor and as a potent growth factor. We have probed the pathways activated by SF and GM-CSF in suppression of active cell death (apoptosis) using two classes of inhibitors: Tyrphostins that are specific inhibitors of protein tyrosine kinase, and amiloride derivatives (5-(N,N-ethyl-n-isopropyl)amiloride and 5-(N,N-hexamethylene)amiloride) that have been designed as specific inhibitors of the Na+/H+ antiporter. Both SF-dependent and GM-CSF-dependent pathways are sensitive to inhibition by Tyrphostins with, nonetheless, a quantitative difference. All Tyrphostins tested are more potent inhibitors of c-Kit than of GM-CSF receptor triggered pathways, the most striking being Tyrphostin B42 that is 10 times more potent. In contrast to the discrepancy in Tyrphostin dose-response curves, titration curves for 5-(N-ethyl-n-isopropyl)amiloride and 5-(N,N-hexamethylene)amiloride are comparable in SF- or GM-CSF-stimulated cells. Furthermore, SF induces a rapid and sustained alkalinization of the intracellular pH, as assessed with the pH-sensitive probe 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5-carboxyfluorescein. Taken together, our data indicate that input from two distinct pathways with discrepancy in immediate early events, that of c-Kit and GM-CSF receptor, results in a common output, activation of the Na+/H+ antiporter and suppression of apoptosis by the two ligands.
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PMID:Product of the steel locus suppresses apoptosis in hemopoietic cells. Comparison with pathways activated by granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor. 751 58

The peritoneal cavity of the mouse is a major source of connective tissue-type mast cells (CTMCs). Flow cytometric analysis using biotinylated recombinant murine mast cell growth factor (rMuMGF) showed that 1 to 3% of the cells in the peritoneal cavity exhibited MGF receptor (MGFR) (or c-kit). CTMCs were the only cell types expressing MGFR in the peritoneal cavity, and every one of them expressed MGFR. More than half the peritoneal CTMCs retained the potential to proliferate in the presence of recombinant murine interleukin 3 (rMuIL-3), rMuIL-4, and rMuMGF and gave rise to pure, alcian blue-positive "mast cells," which actively expressed c-kit transcripts and MGFR. Flow cytometric analysis and receptor assay carried out at 4 degrees C showed that the number of MGFRs on culture-derived mast cells (CDMCs) was one-third that of peritoneal CTMCs (6 x 10(4) vs. 1.8 x 10(5) MGFR/cell). At 37 degrees C, the total number of membrane MGFRs detected in CDMC was two to three times more than that detected at 4 degrees C, indicating that nearly 70% of total MGFR in CDMCs, compared with only 40% in peritoneal CTMCs, existed as "cryptic sites" unable to interact with exogenous ligand at 4 degrees C. Thus, diminished expression of MGFR is one of the phenotypic characteristics associated with CDMCs.
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PMID:Differential expression of mast cell growth factor receptor (c-kit) by peritoneal connective tissue-type mast cells and tissue culture-derived mast cells. 751

In vitro growth of primitive hematopoietic progenitors is severely impaired in the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). To determine if the c-kit ligand mast cell growth factor (MGF) can improve progenitor growth in MDS, we evaluated in vitro responsiveness of bone marrow progenitors from 25 patients to MGF and/or GM-CSF, interleukin-3 (IL-3) and PIXY 321, and examined the relationship between progenitor response and cellular expression of the c-kit receptor. MGF and erythropoietin gave rise to macroscopic colonies and dose-dependently increased CFU-GEMM and BFU-E up to 27-fold in 15 (60%) and 20 (80%) patients, respectively. Among 17 patients with absent growth in lymphocyte-conditioned media, MGF stimulated CFU-GEMM recovery in 59%, compared to 23% with PIXY 321, 12% with IL-3 and 8% with GM-CSF. Cytokine combinations did not augment recovery of erythropoietin-dependent progenitors above that achieved with MGF alone. MGF and/or IL-3 were comparatively weak stimulants of CFU-GM formation, whereas GM-CSF and PIXY in combination with MGF increased colony number 2- to 15-fold in 60 and 70% of patients, respectively, while preserving maturation competence as evidenced by colony composition and increased colony/cluster ratio. The stimulatory effects of MGF were observed in all morphologic categories of MDS except chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. A mononuclear cell population expressing the c-kit receptor was identified by flow cytometry in 57% of cases. Neither SR-1 reactivity nor cytogenetic pattern predicted progenitor response to MGF. These data indicate that MGF improves the colony-forming capacity of hematopoietic progenitors in MDS and is a potent co-stimulant of multipotent and committed progenitor recovery. The heterogeneity in MGF responsiveness implies an intrinsic defect in growth regulation not explained by cellular loss of c-kit display.
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PMID:Mast cell growth factor (c-kit ligand) restores growth of multipotent progenitors in myelodysplastic syndrome. 751 48

The mast cell growth factor (MGF) affects migration, proliferation and differentiation of erythroid and myeloid progenitor cells by binding to a transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase encoded by the c-Kit proto-oncogene. By using MGF-dependent human myeloid cell lines (M-07e and TF-1), here we show that a Kit-related 100 kDa protein is associated with the cell but it undergoes release into the medium upon treatment with the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), an activator of protein kinase C. Immunological analysis with a series of antibodies to Kit indicated that the released protein (p100Kit) contains the whole glycosylated extracellular portion of the transmembrane Kit protein (p145Kit). The secreted protein retained the ability to specifically bind MGF. Moreover, p100Kit was able to block the mitogenic effect of MGF on cultured M-07e cells, suggesting that the soluble protein may function as a physiological antagonist of MGF.
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PMID:Protein kinase C-dependent release of a functional whole extracellular domain of the mast cell growth factor (MGF) receptor by MGF-dependent human myeloid cells. 751 83

The cell-surface receptor c-kit and its cognate ligand stem-cell factor (SCF) or steel factor (SLF) are important for the maintenance of hematopoiesis both in vitro and in vivo. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) has been shown to be a potent inhibitor of SLF-mediated synergistic growth of murine Lin-Sca-1+ progenitor cells, as well as more committed progenitors. In the present study, we examined the regulation of c-kit mRNA and cell-surface expression by TGF-beta. Among the murine hematopoietic progenitor cells tested, the myeloid cell line FDC-P1 and the mast-cell line MC-6, as well as progenitor-enriched bone marrow cells, constitutively expressed functional cell-surface c-kit. Treatment of these progenitor cell lines and primary progenitor cells with TGF-beta resulted in downregulation of cell-surface c-kit expression. This effect was not a secondary event of cell-cycle status. TGF-beta inhibition was dose- and time-dependent, with 50% inhibition seen between 0.3 to 3 ng/mL TGF-beta and maximal inhibition at 30 ng/mL. Using the FDC-P1 cell line, we observed that the inhibition of cell-surface c-kit expression by TGF-beta is preceded by a marked reduction in c-kit mRNA levels starting 2 hours after TGF-beta treatment, and reaches a maximum by 6 hours. The inhibition in steady-state c-kit mRNA levels is explained, in part, by a decrease in the half-life of c-kit transcripts (2 to 4 hours for control cells v 0.5 to 1.5 hours for TGF-beta-treated cells). These findings suggest that TGF-beta regulates the responsiveness of murine hematopoietic progenitors to SLF through a decrease in c-kit message stability leading to decreased cell-surface expression.
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PMID:Transforming growth factor-beta regulates c-kit message stability and cell-surface protein expression in hematopoietic progenitors. 751

The receptor tyrosine kinase Kit and its cognate ligand KL/steel factor are encoded at the white spotting (W) and Steel (Sl) loci of the mouse, respectively. Mutations at both the W and the Sl loci affect hematopoiesis including the stem cell hierarchy, erythropoiesis, and mast cells, as well as gametogenesis and melanogenesis. In addition, mutant mice display an increased sensitivity to lethal doses of irradiation. The role of KL/c-kit in cell proliferation and survival under conditions of growth factor-deprivation and gamma-irradiation was studied by using bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC) as a model. Whereas apoptosis induced by growth factor deprivation in BMMC is a stochastic process and follows zero order kinetics, gamma-irradiation-induced apoptosis is an inductive process and follows higher order kinetics. In agreement with these results, gamma-irradiation-induced apoptosis in BMMC was shown to be dependent on p53 whereas apoptosis induced by deprivation is partly dependent on p53, implying that there are other mechanisms mediating apoptosis in KL-deprived BMMC. In the presence and in the absence of serum, KL stimulated proliferation by promoting cell cycle progression. The presence of KL was required only during the early part of the G1 phase for entry into the S phase. At concentrations lower than those required for proliferation, KL suppressed apoptosis induced by both growth factor-deprivation and gamma-irradiation, and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation characteristic of apoptosis. The ability of KL to suppress apoptosis was independent of the phase of the cell cycle in which the cells were irradiated and suppression of apoptosis was a prerequisite for subsequent cell cycle progression. Moreover, addition of KL to gamma-irradiated and growth factor-deprived cells could be delayed for up to 1 h after irradiation or removal of growth factors when cells became irreversibly committed to apoptosis. KL and IL-3 induce suppression of apoptosis in mast cells by different mechanisms based on the observations of induction of bcl-2 gene expression by IL-3 but not by KL. It is proposed that the increased sensitivity of W and Sl mutant mice to lethal irradiation results from paucity of the apoptosis suppressing and proliferative effects of KL.
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PMID:Role of kit-ligand in proliferation and suppression of apoptosis in mast cells: basis for radiosensitivity of white spotting and steel mutant mice. 751 99

The murine interleukin-3 (IL-3) dependent cell line, B6SUtA1, which expresses high IL-3 receptor (IL-3R) numbers, was found to proliferate in a greater than additive fashion when grown in the presence of IL-3 and steel factor (SF). However, pretreatment of these cells with SF had no effect on the number of IL-3Rs expressed at the cell surface nor their affinity for IL-3. Interestingly, although, SF did induce the rapid and transient serine- and threonine-specific phosphorylation of the beta IL-3 subunit of the IL-3R. This serine/threonine phosphorylation was also observed with the phorbol ester, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, and both the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate- and SF-induced phosphorylation of the IL-3R could be inhibited with the highly specific protein kinase C inhibitor, bisindolylmaleimide (Compound 3), suggesting that SF might be stimulating this phosphorylation via protein kinase C. This SF-induced phosphorylation also occurred within 10 min of incubation at 4 degrees C, indicating that this might be a relatively early event in the c-kit signaling pathway. Last, this SF-induced phosphorylation of the IL-3R occurred in the presence of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein, at levels which blocked the autophosphorylation of c-kit. This suggests that c-kit might be capable of mediating this cross-talk phenomenon in the absence of its endogenous tyrosine kinase activity.
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PMID:Steel factor stimulates the serine/threonine phosphorylation of the interleukin-3 receptor. 751 84

Kit ligand, or stem cell factor, is a recently identified growth factor, which binds to and activates the c-kit proto-oncogene, and which has been shown to act synergistically with other haematopoietic growth factors in the bone marrow. We have previously shown that several isoforms of kit ligand, which arise due to alternative splicing, are expressed in human placenta. In order to elucidate the role of c-kit and its ligand during human placental development we have investigated the expression of c-kit and kit ligand in human first trimester and term placenta as well as in pregnant and non-pregnant endometrium, by immunocytochemistry and flow cytometric analysis. In non-pregnant endometrium no expression of kit ligand was seen. By contrast, in first trimester decidua, kit ligand was strongly expressed by the arterial media of maternal blood vessels. Kit ligand was also expressed throughout pregnancy by invasive fetal extravillous trophoblast, and by fetal fibroblasts within the placental villi. c-kit was found to be expressed on Hofbauer cells within the chorionic villi, and by decidual macrophages at all stages in pregnancy. c-kit was also detected on the small CD56dim subset of uterine large granular lymphocytes which form the major leukocyte population in human first trimester decidua. Our results suggest that kit ligand may be involved in the regulation of fetal macrophages, and in particular in signalling between invading extravillous trophoblast which expresses kit ligand, and maternal leukocytes bearing the c-kit receptor.
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PMID:Expression of c-kit and kit ligand at the human maternofetal interface. 751 62

The c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase belongs to the PDGF/CSF-1/c-kit receptor subfamily. The kit-ligand, KL, also called steel factor, is synthesized from two alternatively spliced mRNAs as transmembrane proteins that can either be proteolytically cleaved to produce soluble forms of KL or can function as cell-associated molecules. The c-kit receptor kinase and KL are encoded at the white spotting (W) and steel (Sl) loci of the mouse, respectively. Mutations at both the W and the Sl locus cause deficiencies in gametogenesis, melanogenesis and hematopoiesis. The c-kit receptor is expressed in the cellular targets of W and Sl mutations, while KL is expressed in their microenvironment. In melanogenesis, c-kit is expressed in melanoblasts from the time they leave the neural crest and expression continues during embryonic development and in the melanocytes of postnatal animals. In gametogenesis c-kit is expressed in primordial germ cells, in spermatogonia, and in primordial and growing oocytes, implying a role at three distinct stages of gametogenesis. Many mutant alleles are known at W and Sl loci and their phenotypes vary in the degree of severity in the different cellular targets of the mutations. While many W and Sl alleles severely affect primordial germ cells (PGC), several mild Sl alleles have weak effects on PGCs and exhibit differential male or female sterility. Steel Panda (Sl(pan)) is a KL expression mutation in which KL RNA transcript levels are reduced in most tissues analyzed. In female Sl(pan)/Sl(pan) mice, ovarian follicle development is arrested at the one layered cuboidal stage as a result of reduced KL expression in follicle cells, indicating a role for c-kit in oocyte growth. Wsh is a c-kit expression mutation, which affects mast cells and melanogenesis. While the mast cell defect results from lack of c-kit expression, the pigmentation deficiency appears to stem from ectopic c-kit receptor expression in the somitic dermatome at the time of migration of melanoblasts from the neural crest to the periphery. It is proposed that the ectopic c-kit expression in Wsh mice affects early melanogenesis in a dominant fashion. The "sash" or white belt of Wsh/+ animals and some other mutant mice is explained by the varying density of melanoblasts along the body axis of wild-type embryos.
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PMID:The kit-ligand (steel factor) and its receptor c-kit/W: pleiotropic roles in gametogenesis and melanogenesis. 751 81

We have previously reported a method of mast cell induction by long-term culture of mouse spleen cells without using exogenous mast cell growth factor (Z.-Q. Hu, T. Yoshida, and T. Shimamura, J. Immunol. Methods 149:173, 1992). Supernatants recovered from the long-term cultures contain endogenous interleukin 3 and soluble stem cell factor. These were assessed by the capacity of the recovered supernatants to foster the growth of a mast cell growth factor-dependent cell line and by neutralizing antibodies. Besides the soluble factors, cell-to-cell contacts mediated by membrane stem cell factor on splenic stromal cells and c-Kit receptors on mast cells also affect mast cell induction. Different lots of fetal calf serum (FCS) were examined to determine a possible trigger for cytokine production. FCS can be divided into mast cell-inducible and noninducible sera by this process. However, not all FCS lots contain mast cell growth factor. The mast cell-inducible lots contain lipopolysaccharide (LPS) confirmed by a Limulus assay. Polymyxin B can neutralize the mast cell induction activity. Non-mast cell-inducible FCS can be converted to inducible FCS by adding exogenous LPS. The results indicate that LPS as a trigger of cytokine production is responsible for mast cell induction.
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PMID:Effect of lipopolysaccharide on mouse mast cell induction by a splenic cell culture system. 752 Apr 22


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