Description
FLT3 is arecently identified hematopoietic cytokine whose activities are mediated bybinding to the transmembrane glycoprotein FLT3. FLT3 was first discovered asa member of the class III subfamily of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) whoseexpression among hematopoietic cells was found to be restricted to highlyenriched stem/progenitor cell populations. Additional class III RTKs includethe receptors from SCF, M-CSF and PDGF. Not surprisingly, FLT3 is alsostructurally related to M-CSF and SCF. All three cytokines have been shown toexist both as type I transmembrane proteins and as soluble proteins