KIT as a master regulator of the mast cell lineage

The discovery in 1987/1988 and 1990 of the cell surface receptor KIT and its ligand, stem cell factor (SCF), was a critical achievement in efforts to understand the development and function of multiple distinct cell lineages. These include hematopoietic progenitors, melanocytes, germ cells, and mast cells, which all are significantly affected by loss-of-function mutations of KIT or SCF. Such mutations also influence the development and/or function of additional cells, including those in parts of the central nervous system and the interstitial cells of Cajal (which control gut motility). Many other cells can express KIT constitutively or during immune responses, including dendritic cells, eosinophils, type 2 innate lymphoid cells, and taste cells. Yet the biological importance of KIT in many of these cell types largely remains to be determined. We here review the history of work investigating mice with mutations affecting the white spotting locus (which encodes KIT) or the steel locus (which encodes SCF), focusing especially on the influence of such mutations on mast cells. We also briefly review efforts to target the KIT/SCF pathway with anti-SCF or anti-Kit antibodies in mouse models of allergic disorders, parasite immunity, or fibrosis in which mast cells are thought to play significant roles.