ArticleNature communications2018
Bi-directional signaling by membrane-bound KitL induces proliferation and coordinates thymic endothelial cell and thymocyte expansion.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mesenchymal thymic niche cells enable regeneration of the adult thymus and T cell immunity.Nature biotechnology · 2026Article
- Thymic health consequences in adults.Nature · 2026Article
- Harnessing extracellular vesicles from adipose-derived stem cells for the treatment of 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide-induced premature ovarian insufficiency.Stem cell research & therapy · 2025Article
- Food for thought: Nutrient metabolism controlling early T cell development.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2025Review
- The Proteostasis of Thymic Stromal Cells in Health and Diseases.The protein journal · 2024Review
- The Lineage Differentiation and Dynamic Heterogeneity of Thymic Epithelial Cells During Thymus Organogenesis.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Article
- The fibroblast: An emerging key player in thymic T cell selection.Immunological reviews · 2021Review
- Stem cell factor is implicated in microenvironmental interactions and cellular dynamics of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.Haematologica · 2021Article
- Non-Epithelial Stromal Cells in Thymus Development and Function.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- Non-Epithelial Thymic Stromal Cells: Unsung Heroes in Thymus Organogenesis and T Cell Development.Frontiers in immunology · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The ligand for the c-Kit receptor, KitL, exists as a membrane-associated (mKitL) and a soluble form (sKitL). KitL functions outside c-Kit activation have not been identified. We show that co-culture of c-Kit- and mKitL-expressing NIH3T3 cells results in signaling through mKitL: c-Kit-bound mKitL recruits calcium-modulating cyclophilin ligand (CAML) to selectively activate Akt, leading to CREB phosphorylation, mTOR pathway activation, and increased cell proliferation. Activation of mKitL in thymic vascular endothelial cells (VECs) induces mKitL- and Akt-dependent proliferation, and genetic ablation of mKitL in thymic VECs blocks their c-Kit responsiveness and proliferation during neonatal thymic expansion. Therefore, mKitL-c-Kit form a bi-directional signaling complex that acts in the developing thymus to coordinate thymic VEC and early thymic progenitor (ETP) expansion by simultaneously promoting ETP survival and VEC proliferation. This mechanism may be relevant to both normal tissues and malignant tumors that depend on KitL-c-Kit signaling for their proliferation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.