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Query: UNIPROT:P10721 (c-kit)
 6,575 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mice carrying mutations at the W locus located on chromosome 5 are characterized by severe macrocytic anaemia, lack of hair pigmentation and sterility. Mutations at this locus appear to affect the proliferation and/or migration of cells during early embryogenesis and result in an intrinsic defect in the haematopoietic stem cell hierarchy. An understanding of the molecular basis of the complex and pleiotropic phenotype in W mutant mice would thus provide insights into the important developmental processes of gametogenesis, melanogenesis and haematopoiesis. Here we show that the mouse mutant W has a deletion of the c-kit proto-oncogene. Interspecific backcross analysis demonstrates that the W locus is very tightly linked to c-kit and that the two loci cannot be segregated at this level of analysis. c-kit is the cellular homologue of the oncogene v-kit of the HZ4 feline sarcoma virus and encodes a transmembrane protein tyrosine kinase receptor that is structurally similar to the receptors for colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) and platelet derived growth factor. The co-localization of c-kit with W provides a molecular entry into this important region of the mouse genome. In addition, these observations provide the first example of a germ-line mutation in a mammalian proto-oncogene and implicate the c-kit gene as a candidate for the W locus.
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PMID:The proto-oncogene c-kit encoding a transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor maps to the mouse W locus. 245 11

Mutations at the W locus in the mouse have pleiotropic effects on embryonic development and hematopoiesis. The characteristic phenotype of mutants at this locus, which includes white coat color, sterility, and anemia, can be attributed to the failure of stem cell populations to migrate and/or proliferate effectively during development. Mapping experiments suggest that the c-kit proto-oncogene, which encodes a putative tyrosine kinase receptor, is a candidate for the W locus. We show here that the c-kit gene is disrupted in two spontaneous mutant W alleles, W44 and Wx. Genomic DNA that encodes amino acids 240 to 342 of the c-kit polypeptide is disrupted in W44; the region encoding amino acids 342 to 791 is disrupted in Wx. W44 homozygotes exhibit a marked reduction in levels of c-kit mRNA. These results strongly support the identification of c-kit as the gene product of the W locus.
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PMID:The dominant-white spotting (W) locus of the mouse encodes the c-kit proto-oncogene. 245 42

The c-kit proto-oncogene belongs to the tyrosine kinase receptor family. Although its ligand is still unknown, there is increasing evidence to suggest its involvement in hematopoiesis. In order to detect lineage or differentiation related specificity, we have studied c-kit mRNA expression in both human and murine hematopoietic organs and cell lines. We show that c-kit mRNA expression is found at early stages of erythroid and myeloid differentiation. There is however, no evidence of c-kit expression in the lymphoid lineage. Our results suggest a possible role for c-kit as a receptor in the early stages of the erythroid/myeloid differentiation.
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PMID:c-kit mRNA expression in human and murine hematopoietic cell lines. 247 87

The c-kit proto-oncogene encodes a tyrosine kinase receptor for stem cell factor and plays a critical role in the growth and differentiation of various types of cells including hematopoietic stem cells. To investigate the mechanisms of its transcriptional regulation, we isolated the 5' flanking region of the human c-kit gene and characterized its promoter activity in hematopoietic cells. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the 1.2 kb 5' flanking region lacked a typical "TATA box," but had a relatively high G + C content and four potential Sp1-binding sites. Putative binding sites for AP-2, basic helix-loop-helix proteins, Ets-domain proteins, Myb and GATA-1 were also found. Primer extension and S1 nuclease protection analyses of hematopoietic cells indicated that the major transcription start sites are 62 bp and 58 bp upstream of the translation start site. Essentially the same start sites were detected in non-hematopoietic cells such as small cell lung carcinoma and glioblastoma: this single promoter in c-kit is different from the multiple promoter system of c-fms, a c-kit-related gene, in which at least two promoters are differently used in hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells. An analysis of the c-kit 5' flanking region using the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene (CAT assay) in human erythroleukemia HEL cells, which express the endogenous c-kit mRNA at high levels, showed that a region from -180 to -22 is important for the expression of the c-kit gene. In addition, a negative regulatory element(s) is suggested to be involved in the regulation of the c-kit gene expression in mammals.
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PMID:Characterization of the promoter region of the human c-kit proto-oncogene. 750 48

The c-kit proto-oncogene encodes a tyrosine kinase receptor and is allelic with the dominant white-spotting (W) locus of the mouse. In this study we investigated the expression of human c-kit protein in various adult and fetal human tissues immunohistochemically using anti-human c-kit monoclonal antibody. To discriminate c-kit+ cells from mast cells expressing c-kit, mast cells were identified by staining with Toluidine blue. In oogonia, spermatogonia and skin melanocytes of the fetus and in oocytes of adult ovary, c-kit expression was detected. In adult uterus, c-kit+ cells were widely distributed in the basal layer of the endometrium, myometrium and cervix, the number and distribution being almost identical to those of mast cells. In fetal uterus, c-kit+ non-mast cells clustered beneath the epithelium and a few mast cells were observed in the myometrium and subserosal layer. In both adult and fetus, c-kit+ non-mast cells were detected within smooth muscle layers of the intestine, colon and oesophagus, while mast cells were observed in the mucosal and submucosal layers of these organs. In contrast to mice, no expression of c-kit protein was detected in the human placenta and decidua. Thus, the distribution of c-kit+ cells in various tissues is similar but not identical between adult and fetus and between human and mouse.
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PMID:The expression of c-kit protein in human adult and fetal tissues. 750 33

Steel (SI) and white spotting (W) loci encode steel factor (c-kit ligand) and the c-kit tyrosine kinase receptor, respectively. Mutations at these loci affect migration and differentiation of primordial germ cells, neural crest-derived melanoblasts, and hematopoietic cells. In these processes, cell adhesion molecules are hypothesized to be crucial. We have examined the role of steel factor and c-kit in cell-extracellular matrix adhesion using bone marrow-derived mast cells as a model system. Steel factor stimulates mast cells to bind to fibronectin and, to a lesser extent, to vitronectin, whereas interleukin-3 and interleukin-4, which are also mast cell growth factors, do not. Activation of adhesiveness is transient, occurs at concentrations of steel factor 100-fold lower than required for growth stimulation, and requires the integrin VLA-5. Mast cells from c-kit mutant mice adhere to fibronectin on stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), but not on stimulation with steel factor, indicating that stimulation of integrin adhesiveness requires activation of the c-kit protein tyrosine kinase. By contrast, c-kit mutant and wild-type mast cells adhere equally well to COS cells expressing membrane-anchored steel factor, showing that the kinase activity of c-kit is not required for adhesion directly mediated by c-kit. Our findings suggest that regulation of adhesion is an important biologic function of steel factor.
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PMID:Steel factor and c-kit regulate cell-matrix adhesion. 750 7

The Kit protein is a cell-surface tyrosine kinase receptor encoded by the c-kit proto-oncogene. cDNA clones encoding a protein homologous to the mouse and human Kit were isolated from a bovine cerebrum cDNA library. The deduced amino-acid sequence shows 83 and 90% identity to the mouse and human Kit, respectively.
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PMID:Sequence of a bovine c-kit proto-oncogene cDNA. 751 39

Tissue mast cells are multifunctional immune cells and have been implicated in allergic and inflammatory reactions. However, while the role of allergen binding to surface IgE via the high-affinity Fc epsilon receptor on mast cells is well understood, major questions in mast-cell biology remain to be answered. In particular, it is largely unknown which stimuli lead to the differentiation of human mast cells from their precursor cells and how the maturing cells localize (or home) and acquire effector functions within the microvasculature. A potential solution is suggested by Peter Valent in this viewpoint. The emerging concept is that a single tissue hormone, the ligand of the c-kit tyrosine kinase receptor (CD117), provides a key signal in multiple aspects of mast-cell differentiation and function.
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PMID:The riddle of the mast cell: kit(CD117)-ligand as the missing link? 751 17

The bcl-2 protein plays a central role in the regulation of programmed cell death in a variety of tissues and is pivotal to the survival of lymphocytes in vivo. The growth factors responsible for survival of normal lymphocytes are unknown but are likely to maintain viability in part through the regulation of bcl-2 expression. A subset of human natural killer (NK) cells (CD3-CD56bright) are unique among lymphocytes in their constitutive expression of c-kit, a tyrosine kinase cell surface receptor that binds c-kit ligand (KL). Alone, KL does not promote proliferation or further differentiation of CD56bright NK cells. We now report that, in the absence of serum or additional growth factors, KL prevents apoptosis of cultured CD56bright NK cells, as assessed by DNA fragmentation studies, and maintains viability, as measured by biologic responses (i.e., proliferation and cytotoxicity) to the subsequent addition of other cytokines. Furthermore, we demonstrate that KL induces CD56bright NK cells to express the bcl-2 protein. In the presence of anti-c-kit antibody, the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein, or bcl-2 antisense oligonucleotide, the protective effect of KL on the survival of CD56bright NK cells is dramatically reduced. These data demonstrate that the binding of KL to its tyrosine kinase receptor results in the upregulation of bcl-2, thereby preventing apoptosis in this subset of normal human lymphocytes. As soluble KL is plentiful in normal human serum, this survival mechanism may be operative for CD56bright NK cells in vivo.
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PMID:The c-kit ligand suppresses apoptosis of human natural killer cells through the upregulation of bcl-2. 751 82

The W locus encodes a tyrosine kinase receptor, c-kit, which affects survival of melanoblasts from the neural crest. The primary cochlear defect in Viable Dominant Spotting (Wv/Wv) mutants is a lack of melanocytes within the stria vascularis (SV) associated with an endocochlear potential (EP) close to zero and hearing impairment. In this study, we compare inner ear pigmentation with cochlear potentials in three other W alleles (Wx, Wsh, and W41) and reveal an unequivocal correlation between presence of strial melanocytes and presence of an EP. Asymmetry was common, and 8.3% of Wsh/Wx, 25% of Wsh/Wsh, 60% of W41/Wx, and 69.2% of W41/W41 ears had a pigmented stria and an EP, while the remainder had no strial melanocytes and no EP. In those mutants that partially escaped the effects of the mutation, strial melanocytes rarely extended the entire length of the stria, but were confined to the middle and/or basal turns of the cochlea. The extent of strial pigmentation was unrelated to the EP value, which was measured from the basal turn only. Compound action potential (CAP) responses recorded from ears with an EP were variable and they showed greatly raised thresholds or were absent in all ears where the EP was close to zero. In controls, melanocytes in the vestibular part of the ear were found in the utricle, crus commune, and ampullae, whereas in many mutants only one or two of these regions were pigmented. There was a broad correlation between pigmentation of the stria and pigmentation of the vestibular region but this was not absolute. All W41/Wx, Wsh/Wsh, and W41/W41 mutants had some pigment on the pinna but, in contrast to controls where melanocytes were found in the epidermis and dermis of the pinna, pigment cells were reduced in number and generally restricted to the dermis. Injection of normal neural crest cells into 9.5-day-old mutant embryos increased the extent of skin pigmentation on the head and coat of adult chimeras and was associated with a small increase in the proportion of pigmented strias.
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PMID:Effects of mutations at the W locus (c-kit) on inner ear pigmentation and function in the mouse. 752 Oct 50


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