Imatinib mesylate is a first generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor that selectively targets certain tyrosine kinases, including ABL, platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR), and KIT (Druker, 2008; Müller)
Inhibits proliferation of primary cultured human mesenchymal stem cells, and promotes adipogenic over osteogenic differentiation (Fierro et al.)
Induces osteoblast differentiation in cultured osteoblastic cells, and reduces osteoclastogenesis in mouse bone marrow cultures (O'Sullivan et al.)
In CML, Imatinib inhibits the oncoprotein BCR-ABL, the product of the Philadelphia chromosome gene fusion (Carroll et al.; Druker et al.), 1996)
Inhibits autonomous erythropoiesis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from patients with polycythemia vera (Oehler et al.)
