New approaches to therapy for mastocytosis. A case for treatment with kit kinase inhibitors.

B J Longley, Y Ma, E Carter, G McMahon

Journal: Hematology/oncology clinics of North America 2000;14(3):689-95

PMID: 10909046

Abstract

Some forms of mastocytosis are caused by c-kit mutations which cause constitutive activation of kit kinase. Compounds that inhibit kit kinase, such as indolinones, are therefore attractive as potential therapeutic agents. A hierarchy exists in the ability of compounds to inhibit kit kinase effectively. Some compounds can inhibit ligand-induced activation of wild-type receptor but are ineffective against constitutively activated mutants. Other compounds can inhibit ligand-induced activation of wild-type kit and ligand-independent activation by juxtamembrane domain mutations but not activation by activation loop mutations. Still others effectively inhibit wild-type kit and constitutively activated kit bearing either juxtamembrane or kinase domain mutations and kill the neoplastic mast cells expressing these mutants. No therapy currently exists that specifically targets a cause of mastocytosis, but there are good reasons to believe that kit kinase inhibitors may fulfill that role someday.

Address: Department of Dermatology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA. [email protected]
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