Bruton's tyrosine kinase (abbreviated BTK) is a tyrosine kinase, which plays a key role in B cell development and maturation. The identification of BTK as driver gene has led to repaid development of anti cancer therapeutic agents, including ibrutinib, which approved for B cell cancers like mantle cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and Waldenström's macroglobulinemia in 2013.
Ba/F3 cell, a murine interleukin-3 dependent pro-B cell line, is a popular system for exploring both kinases and their inhibitors, because some protein kinases can render the Ba/F3 cells to be depended on the activation of the kinases instead of IL-3 supplement, while their inhibitors can antagonize the kinase-dependent growth effects.