title: Serum soluble c-kit receptor and expression of c-kit protein and mRNA in acute myeloid leukemia.
abstract: To investigate the clinical role of the soluble form of c-kit receptor (s-kit) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), we determined the levels of serum s-kit and expression of c-kit antigens and mRNA in leukemic cells. The serum s-kit level was measured using ELISA assay in 30 AML patients and 20 normal controls. C-kit antigens of leukemic blasts were stained immunohistologically, and c-kit mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. The serum s-kit level in M1 and M2 were significantly increased (p<0.01) and that in M4 or M5 was significantly decreased (p<0.05) compared to that in the controls. In the comparisons among subtypes of FAB classification, M1 and M2 showed significantly higher levels than M4 or M5 (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). Both expression of c-kit antigens and mRNA were observed in M0 (1/4), M1 (2/4) and M2 (6/8), but neither was observed in M4 or M5. The serum s-kit levels were correlated with the absolute number of AML blasts in peripheral blood (r=0.564, p<0.05). These results indicate that the serum s-kit level is related to the stage of differentiation of AML blasts in accordance with the expression of c-kit protein and mRNA in AML blasts, and is useful for assessment of leukemic cell burden.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tajima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawatani
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishiga
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nanba
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015870:Gene Expression; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000097:blood*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis*; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D012016:Reference Values; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase