Abstract
The cytokine stem cell factor (SCF) synergizes with IL-7 to enhance the proliferation of thymocytes. We therefore investigated the role of the SCF receptor, the protooncogene c-kit, in the pathogenesis of pediatric T-lineage malignancies. Expression and regulation of c-kit in cells from children with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (T-NHL) or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and the proliferative effect of SCF on these cells were examined in seven cell lines and 21 biopsy tumor cell preparations. Inducibility of c-kit receptors by SCF, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-7, TGF-β, TNF-α, PMA or calcium ionophore A23187 was studied by flow cytometry (FCM). C-kit receptors were detected in three out of seven T-lymphoblastic cell lines and in nine out of 21 biopsy tumor cell preparations. Upregulation of c-kit could be induced by cultivation, and to a higher extent by cultivation and addition of IL-1β, TNF-α, TGF-β or A23187. Downregulation of c-kit occurred in the presence of SCF or PMA. SCF caused a downregulation of c-kit receptors in eight of nine, and a proliferative response in three of 11 c-kit-positive T-lymphoblastic cell preparations. We conclude that c-kit is able to transduce a growth stimulatory signal in some T-lymphoblastic cells and that its expression may not be detectable in a resting metabolic or proliferative state.
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Tomeczkowski, J., Frick, D., Schwinzer, B. et al. Expression and regulation of c-kit receptor and response to stem cell factor in childhood malignant T-lymphoblastic cells. Leukemia 12, 1221–1229 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2401102
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2401102
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