Gas6 as a putative noninvasive biomarker of hepatic fibrosis.

Aim: To evaluate serum growth arrest-specific gene 6 (Gas6) concentration as a biomarker of liver fibrosis progression.

Materials & Methods: One hundred and thirteen consecutive patients affected by chronic liver disease underwent transient elastography, Gas6 measurement and, if clinically indicated, liver biopsy.

Results: Gas6 concentration was directly correlated to liver stiffness (r = 0.

Growth Arrest Specific 6 Concentration is Increased in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

Growth arrest specific 6 (Gas6) has neurotrophic and neuroinflammatory functions, and may play a role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In keeping with this hypothesis, we observed that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Gas6 is increased in AD patients compared to controls (63 versus 67 subjects; median value 13.3 versus 9.

Novel Axl-driven signaling pathway and molecular signature characterize high-grade ovarian cancer patients with poor clinical outcome.

High-grade epithelial ovarian cancer (HGEOC) is a clinically diverse and molecularly heterogeneous disease comprising subtypes with distinct biological features and outcomes. The receptor tyrosine kinases, expressed by EOC cells, and their ligands, present in the microenvironment, activate signaling pathways, which promote EOC cells dissemination. Herein, we established a molecular link between the presence of Gas6 ligand in the ascites of HGEOCs, the expression and activation of its receptor Axl in ovarian cancer cell lines and biopsies, and the progression of these tumors.

Growth arrest specific gene 6 protein concentration in cerebrospinal fluid correlates with relapse severity in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Growth arrest specific gene 6 (Gas6) protein enhances survival of oligodendrocytes and neurons, and it is involved in autoimmunity. Therefore, we aimed to verify whether cerebrospinal-fluid (CSF) Gas6 concentration may represent a biomarker of disease activity in multiple sclerosis.

Methods: Sixty-five patients who underwent a spinal tap during relapse of relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS)(McDonald-criteria) were studied.

Human cutaneous melanomas lacking MITF and melanocyte differentiation antigens express a functional Axl receptor kinase.

Axl, a member of the TAM (Tyro3, Axl, Mer) family of receptor tyrosine kinases, displays an increasingly important role in carcinogenesis. Analysis of 58 cutaneous melanoma lines indicated that Axl was expressed in 38% of them, with significant overrepresentation in NRAS- compared with BRAF-mutated tumors. Axl activation could be induced by autocrine production of its ligand, Gas6, in a significant fraction of Axl-positive tumors.