1. c-Kit as a Novel Potential Therapeutic Target in Colorectal Cancer
Yatrik M. Shah 
Gastroenterology 
Volume 149, Issue 3, Pages (September 2015)
DOI: /j.gastro
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2. Figure 1
Differentiated epithelial (blue cells) cells in colon tumors secrete stem cell factor, which modulates growth of tumor initiating or stem-like cells (brown cells) through activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase, c-Kit, which is highly expressed in hypoxic tumor foci. c-Kit is highly expressed in the tumor initialing or stem-like cells through regulation by hypoxic signals. Inhibition of c-Kit by imatinib leads to a decrease in tumor growth. Mechanistically, c-Kit signaling is shown to be essential for maintaining growth of tumor initiating cells. Imatinib or other c-Kit inhibitors increase differentiation markers and decrease stem cell markers in the tumor-initiating cells.
Gastroenterology  , DOI: ( /j.gastro )
Copyright © 2015 AGA Institute Terms and Conditions