Wang Weina, Shui Liyan, Liu Yanning, Zheng Min
State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Front Genet. 2021 Feb 2;12:598855. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.598855. eCollection 2021.
Previous studies have reported an important role of c-kit in embryogenesis and adulthood. Activation of the SCF/KIT signal transduction pathway is customarily linked to cell proliferation, migration and survival thus influence hematopoiesis, pigmentation, and spermatogenesis. The role of c-kit in the liver is controversial, it is however argued that it is a double-edged sword in liver regeneration and diseases. First, liver c-kit cells, including oval cells, bile epithelial cells, and part of hepatocytes, participate in liver tissue repair by regenerating target cells according to the type of liver injury. At the same time, c-kit mast cells, act as immature progenitors in circulation, playing a critical role in liver fibrosis. Furthermore, c-kit is also a proto-oncogene. Notably, c-kit overexpression regulates gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Various studies have explored on c-kit and hepatocellular carcinoma, nevertheless, the intricate roles of c-kit in the liver are largely understudied. Herein, we extensively summarize previous studies geared toward providing hints for future clinical and basic research.
先前的研究报道了c-kit在胚胎发育和成年期的重要作用。SCF/KIT信号转导通路的激活通常与细胞增殖、迁移和存活相关，从而影响造血、色素沉着和精子发生。c-kit在肝脏中的作用存在争议，然而有人认为它在肝脏再生和疾病中是一把双刃剑。首先，肝脏c-kit细胞，包括卵圆细胞、胆管上皮细胞和部分肝细胞，根据肝损伤类型通过再生靶细胞参与肝组织修复。同时，c-kit肥大细胞作为循环中的未成熟祖细胞，在肝纤维化中起关键作用。此外，c-kit也是一种原癌基因。值得注意的是，c-kit过表达可调节胃肠道间质瘤。关于c-kit与肝细胞癌的各种研究已经展开，然而c-kit在肝脏中的复杂作用在很大程度上仍未得到充分研究。在此，我们广泛总结先前的研究，旨在为未来的临床和基础研究提供线索。
