Five of the eight cases carried the mutation in a cell fraction below one-tenth of the blast cell fraction, thus suggesting that KIT mutation is often a late event in leukemogenesis.
Our study showed that 54% of childhood CBF-AML had RTKs and/or Ras mutations; c-KIT but not CSF1R mutations play a role in the leukemogenesis of childhood CBF-AML.
Therefore, while ITD mutations were not found, the findings of co-expression of KIT and/or FMS with their respective ligands implies these receptors might contribute to leukemogenesis in some patients with AML through autocrine, paracrine, or intracrine interactive stimulation.
The level of the aberrant intron-retaining splice variant, evaluated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, was lower in CD117(+)-AML bone marrow mononuclear cells at remission than at diagnosis, suggesting the involvement of post-transcriptional PTPN6 processing in leukemogenesis.