Receptor and non-receptor tyrosine kinases constitute a large family of proteins that play a pivotal role in hematopoiesis. Here we conducted a comprehensive survey of tyrosine kinase gene expression in primary erythroid progenitor cells from bone marrow by employing a PCR-based strategy that targets the conserved kinase encoding region. We demonstrate that erythroid progenitor cells express several receptor and nonreceptor tyrosine kinases, like c-kit, Jak1, Ryk, FAK, Syk, Arg, Csk and members of the insulin receptor family. Speci®c changes in the expression pro®le of tyrosine kinases were observed following di erentiation induction. We also report on the identi®cation of a new ligand dependent modulator of erythropoiesis, ®broblast growth factor receptor-4 (FGFR-4). FGFR-4 is e ectively expressed in erythroid progenitors and downregulated when cells di erentiate. Furthermore, the FGFR-4 ligand, basic ®broblast growth factor (bFGF), enhanced erythroid cell proliferation induced by SCF or insulin, and thus modulated both erythroid proliferation and di erentiation in vitro.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.