STK-1, the human homolog of Flk-2/Flt-3, is selectively expressed in CD34+ human bone marrow cells and is involved in the proliferation of early progenitor/stem cells

Donald Small, Mark Levenstein, Eunkyung Kim, Cathy Carow, Shahina Amin, Patricia Rockwell, Larry Witte, Christopher Burrow, Mariusz Z. Ratajczak, Alan M. Gewirtz, Curt I. Civin

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364 Scopus citations

Abstract

We cloned the cDNA for stem cell tyrosine kinase 1 (STK-1), the human homolog of murine Flk-2/Flt-3, from a CD34+ hematopoietic stem cell-enriched library and investigated its expression in subsets of normal human bone marrow. The cDNA encodes a protein of 993 aa with 85% identity and 92% similarity to Flk-2/Flt-3. STK-1 is a member of the type III receptor tyrosine kinase family that includes KIT (steel factor receptor), FMS (colony-stimulating factor 1R), and platelet-derived growth factor receptor. STK-1 expression in human blood and marrow is restricted to CD34+ cells, a population greatly enriched for stem/progenitor cells. Anti-STK-1 antiserum recognizes polypeptides of 160 and 130 kDa in several STK-1-expressing cell lines and in 3T3 cells transfected with a STK-1 expression vector. Antisense oligonucleotides directed against STK-1 sequences inhibited hematopoietic colony formation, most strongly in long-term bone marrow cultures. These data suggest that STK-1 may function as a growth factor receptor on hematopoietic stem and/or progenitor cells.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)459-463
Number of pages5
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume91
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 18 1994

Keywords

  • antisense
  • growth factor receptor
  • hematopoiesis
  • tyrosine kinase

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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