Abstract
Tyrosine phosphorylation has a key role in intracellular signaling. Inappropriate proliferation and survival cues in tumor cells often occur as a consequence of unregulated tyrosine kinase activity. Much of the current development of anti-cancer therapies tries to target causative proteins in a specific manner to minimize side-effects. One attractive group of target proteins is the kinases. c-Kit is a receptor tyrosine kinase that normally controls the function of primitive hematopoietic cells, melanocytes and germ cells. It has become clear that uncontrolled activity of c-Kit contributes to formation of an array of human tumors. The unregulated activity of c-Kit may be due to overexpression, autocrine loops or mutational activation. This makes c-Kit an excellent target for cancer therapies in these tumors. In this review we will highlight the current knowledge on the signal transduction molecules and pathways activated by c-Kit under normal conditions and in cancer cells, and the role of aberrant c-Kit signaling in cancer progression. Recent advances in the development of specific inhibitors interfering with these signal transduction pathways will be discussed.
Keywords: Stem cell factor, c-Kit, receptor tyrosine kinase, signal transduction, transformation, cancer, leukemia
Current Cancer Drug Targets
Title: The Stem Cell Factor Receptor/c-Kit as a Drug Target in Cancer
Volume: 6 Issue: 1
Author(s): J. Lennartsson and L. Ronnstrand
Affiliation:
Keywords: Stem cell factor, c-Kit, receptor tyrosine kinase, signal transduction, transformation, cancer, leukemia
Abstract: Tyrosine phosphorylation has a key role in intracellular signaling. Inappropriate proliferation and survival cues in tumor cells often occur as a consequence of unregulated tyrosine kinase activity. Much of the current development of anti-cancer therapies tries to target causative proteins in a specific manner to minimize side-effects. One attractive group of target proteins is the kinases. c-Kit is a receptor tyrosine kinase that normally controls the function of primitive hematopoietic cells, melanocytes and germ cells. It has become clear that uncontrolled activity of c-Kit contributes to formation of an array of human tumors. The unregulated activity of c-Kit may be due to overexpression, autocrine loops or mutational activation. This makes c-Kit an excellent target for cancer therapies in these tumors. In this review we will highlight the current knowledge on the signal transduction molecules and pathways activated by c-Kit under normal conditions and in cancer cells, and the role of aberrant c-Kit signaling in cancer progression. Recent advances in the development of specific inhibitors interfering with these signal transduction pathways will be discussed.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Lennartsson J. and Ronnstrand L., The Stem Cell Factor Receptor/c-Kit as a Drug Target in Cancer, Current Cancer Drug Targets 2006; 6 (1) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/156800906775471725
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/156800906775471725 |
Print ISSN 1568-0096 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-5576 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Advances in Cancer Biomarkers and Potential Drug Targets: From Diagnosis to Therapy
Cancer biomarkers play a crucial role in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cancer. They provide valuable information for cancer detection, risk assessment, treatment selection, and monitoring response to therapy. With advancements in molecular biology and high-throughput technologies, there has been an increasing interest in identifying and characterizing cancer biomarkers ...read more
Novel Therapeutic Approaches to Target Drug Resistant Tumors
With the development of disciplines such as chemical biology and molecular biology, the genes or proteins closely related to tumor occurrence and development have gradually become clear. Targeted therapies targeting these genes or proteins provide more effective methods for tumor treatment. Tumor targeted drugs generally only act on specific targets ...read more
ROLE OF IMMUNE AND GENOTOXIC RESPONSE BIOMARKERS IN TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT IN CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
Biological biomarkers have been used in medical research as an indicator of a normal or abnormal process inside the body, or of a disease. Nowadays, various researchers are in process to explore and investigate the biological markers for the early assessment of cancer. DNA Damage response (DDR) pathways and immune ...read more
Targeting the battlefield between host and tumor: basic research and clinical practice on reshaping tumor immune microenvironment
Immune system protects host against malignant tumors through effector cells and molecules. Cancer development and its response to therapy are regulated by inflammation, which either promotes or suppresses cancer progression. Chronic inflammation facilitates cancer progression and treatment resistance, whereas induction of acute inflammatory reactions often lead to anti-cancer immune responses. ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
Related Articles
-
A Review of Depsipeptide and Other Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors in Clinical Trials
Current Pharmaceutical Design Cyclometalated Complexes of Platinum and Gold with Biological Properties: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives
Current Medicinal Chemistry Platelet Activity in the Pathophysiology of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Current Drug Targets Intramolecular Cyclisation of β-Aryl-β-Amino Acids in the Design of Novel Heterocyclic Systems with Therapeutic Interest: An Unfailing Source of Diversity
Current Medicinal Chemistry Targeting of Adhesion Molecules as a Therapeutic Strategy in Multiple Myeloma
Current Cancer Drug Targets Determinants of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy
Immunology, Endocrine & Metabolic Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Discontinued) Application of Stem Cell Therapy During the Treatment of HIV/AIDS and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy Fighting Tumor Cell Survival: Advances in the Design and Evaluation of Pim Inhibitors
Current Medicinal Chemistry Induction and Escalation Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis
Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-Allergy Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Therapeutic Potential of Peptide Toxins that Target Ion Channels
Inflammation & Allergy - Drug Targets (Discontinued) Podophyllotoxin: Current Perspectives
Current Bioactive Compounds Structure, Substrate Complexation and Reaction Mechanism of Bacterial Asparaginases
Current Chemical Biology Is Src a Viable Target for Treating Solid Tumours?
Current Cancer Drug Targets γ-Secretase Substrates and their Implications for Drug Development in Alzheimer's Disease
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Clinical Pharmacogenetics of Methotrexate
Current Drug Metabolism Effects and Role of Multikinase Inhibitors in Thyroid Cancer
Current Pharmaceutical Design L1 Retrotransposon and Retinoblastoma: Molecular Linkages Between Epigenetics and Cancer
Current Molecular Medicine Biodegradable Nanoparticles: A Recent Approach and Applications
Current Drug Targets The Management of Membranous Glomerulopathy in Allogeneic Stem Cells Transplantation: Updated Literature
Cardiovascular & Hematological Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Precision Mechanics with Multifunctional Tools: How HnRNP K and HnRNPs E1/E2 Contribute to Post-Transcriptional Control of Gene Expression in Hematopoiesis
Current Protein & Peptide Science