title: Expression of the receptor tyrosine kinase c-kit in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells.
abstract: The growth and differentiation of neural precursor cells in the central nervous system (CNS) are regulated by their response to polypeptide growth factors which interact with specific transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). We demonstrate that rat oligodendrocyte-type 2 astrocyte (O-2A) glial progenitor cells, precursors of the myelin-forming cells in the CNS, express the transmembrane RTK c-kit, the gene product of the murine dominant white spotting (W) locus and receptor for stem cell factor. Expression of c-kit transcripts and immunoreactive protein is lost when O-2A progenitors differentiate into post-mitotic oligodendrocytes. Analysis of developing rat brain revealed an increase in the expression of c-kit transcripts between postnatal days 10 and 12, a window of time preceding the emergence of oligodendrocytes and the onset of myelination in vivo. Expression of c-kit in vitro and in vivo suggests a role for this receptor and its ligand during oligodendrocyte development.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Viral and Molecular Pathogenesis, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ida
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dubois-Dalcq
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: McKinnon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000254:growth & development; D015536:Down-Regulation; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000201:enzymology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase