Pediatric mastocytosis-associated KIT extracellular domain mutations exhibit different functional and signaling properties compared with KIT-phosphotransferase domain mutations

Blood. 2010 Aug 19;116(7):1114-23. doi: 10.1182/blood-2009-06-226027. Epub 2010 May 18.

Abstract

Compared with adults, pediatric mastocytosis has a relatively favorable prognosis. Interestingly, a difference was also observed in the status of c-kit mutations according to the age of onset. Although most adult patients have a D(816)V mutation in phosphotransferase domain (PTD), we have described that half of the children carry mutations in extracellular domain (ECD). KIT-ECD versus KIT-PTD mutants were introduced into rodent Ba/F3, EML, Rat2, and human TF1 cells to investigate their biologic effect. Both ECD and PTD mutations induced constitutive receptor autophosphorylation and ligand-independent proliferation of the 3 hematopoietic cells. Unlike ECD mutants, PTD mutants enhanced cluster formation and up-regulated several mast cell-related antigens in Ba/F3 cells. PTD mutants failed to support colony formation and erythropoietin-mediated erythroid differentiation. ECD and PTD mutants also displayed distinct whole-genome transcriptional profiles in EML cells. We observed differences in their signaling properties: they both activated STAT, whereas AKT was only activated by ECD mutants. Consistently, AKT inhibitor suppressed ECD mutant-dependent proliferation, clonogenicity, and erythroid differentiation. Expression of myristoylated AKT restored erythroid differentiation in EML-PTD cells, suggesting the differential role of AKT in those mutants. Overall, our study implied different pathogenesis of pediatric versus adult mastocytosis, which might explain their diverse phenotypes.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Apoptosis
  • Blotting, Western
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Child
  • Fibroblasts / cytology
  • Fibroblasts / metabolism
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Humans
  • Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute / metabolism
  • Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute / pathology
  • Lymphocytes / metabolism
  • Mast Cells / metabolism
  • Mastocytosis / genetics*
  • Mastocytosis / metabolism
  • Mastocytosis / pathology
  • Mice
  • Mutation / genetics*
  • Phosphorylation
  • Phosphotransferases / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / genetics*
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • Rats
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Substances

  • RNA, Messenger
  • Phosphotransferases
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt