FLT3LG
Encyclopedia
Fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (FLT3LG) is a protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 which in humans is encoded by the FLT3LG gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

Flt3 ligand (FL) is a hematopoietic
Haematopoiesis
Haematopoiesis is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cells...

 four helical bundle cytokine
Cytokine
Cytokines are small cell-signaling protein molecules that are secreted by the glial cells of the nervous system and by numerous cells of the immune system and are a category of signaling molecules used extensively in intercellular communication...

. It is structurally homologous to stem cell factor
Stem cell factor
Stem Cell Factor is a cytokine that binds to the c-Kit receptor . SCF can exist both as a transmembrane protein and a soluble protein...

 (SCF) and colony stimulating facor 1 (CSF-1
Macrophage colony-stimulating factor
Macrophage colony-stimulating factor, or M-CSF, is a secreted cytokine which influences hematopoietic stem cells to differentiate into macrophages or other related cell types. Eukaryotic cells also produce M-CSF in order to combat intercellular viral infection. M-CSF binds to the Colony...

). In synergy with other growth factors, Flt3 ligand stimulates the proliferation and differentiation of various blood cell progenitors
Progenitor cell
A progenitor cell is a biological cell that, like a stem cell, has a tendency to differentiate into a specific type of cell, but is already more specific than a stem cell and is pushed to differentiate into its "target" cell...

.

Further reading

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