Ligand activation of TAM family receptors-implications for tumor biology and therapeutic response

Viralkumar Davra, Stanley G. Kimani, David Calianese, Raymond B. Birge

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

50 Scopus citations

Abstract

The TAM family of receptors (i.e., Tyro3, Axl, and Mertk), and their ligands Growth arrest specific factor 6 (Gas6) and Protein S (Pros1) contribute to several oncogenic processes, such as cell survival, invasion, migration, chemo-resistance, and metastasis, whereby expression often correlates with poor clinical outcomes. In recent years, there has been great interest in the study of TAM receptors in cancer, stemming both from their roles as oncogenic signaling receptors, as well as their roles in tumor immunology. As a result, several classes of TAM inhibitors that include small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, decoy receptors, as well as novel strategies to target TAM ligands are being developed. This paper will review the biology of TAM receptors and their ligands with a focus on cancer, as well as evidence-based data for the continued pursuit of TAM/Gas6 inhibitors in clinical practice.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number107
JournalCancers
Volume8
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

Keywords

  • Axl
  • Gas6
  • Immune evasion
  • Mertk
  • Protein S
  • Tumor microenvironment
  • Tyro3

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