Identification of a novel receptor tyrosine kinase expressed in acute myeloid leukemic blasts

Using the polymerase chain reaction with degenerate oligonucleotides derived from conserved motifs within the catalytic kinase domain of protein tyrosine kinases, and RNA extracted from embryonic stem cells, sequences that encode a segment of the kinase domain of several potentially novel receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) have been identified. One of these was selected for further study because in Northern analysis it hybridized to RNA from multipotential hematopoietic cell lines, but not from lines representative of lineage-committed cells. A cDNA for this receptor, designated developmental tyrosine kinase (DTK), was isolated and encodes a protein with structural similarities to AXL. Together these receptors form a new class of RTK. DTK is expressed in a number of human leukemic cell lines, and in the blasts of 6 of 11 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) analyzed. The structure of DTK suggests that it may function as a cell adhesion molecule, and mediate cell-to-cell or cell-matrix interactions between hematopoietic cells and their respective microenvironments.