The role of stem cell factor and of alternative c-kit gene products in the establishment, maintenance and function of germ cells.
The c-kit gene plays a fundamental role during the establishment, the maintenance and the function of germ cells. In the embryonal gonad the c-kit tyrosine kinase receptor and its ligand Stem Cell Factor (SCF) are required for the survival and proliferation of primordial germ cells. In the postnatal animal, c-kit/SCF are required for the production of the mature gametes in response to gonadotropic hormones, i.e. for the survival and/or proliferation of the only proliferating germ cells of the testis, the spermatogonia, and for the growth and maturation of the oocytes. Finally, a truncated c-kit product, tr-kit, specifically expressed in post-meiotic stages of spermatogenesis and present in mature spermatozoa, causes parthenogenetic activation when microinjected into mouse eggs, suggesting that it might play a role in the final function of the gametes, fertilization.
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Dipartimento di Sanita' Pubblica e Biologia Cellulare, Sezione di Anatomia, Universita' di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
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D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002455:Cell Division; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008540:Meiosis; D051379:Mice; D008938:Mitosis; D008954:Models, Biological; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000502:physiology*; D019089:Stem Cell Factor / Q000502:physiology*
D019089:Stem Cell Factor; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit