AXL receptor tyrosine kinase modulates gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor signaling.

Background: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptors are essential for reproduction and are expressed in numerous urogenital, reproductive, and non-reproductive cancers. In addition to canonical G protein-coupled receptor signaling, GnRH receptors functionally interact with several receptor tyrosine kinases. AXL is a receptor tyrosine kinase expressed in numerous tissues as well as multiple tumors.

AXL/Gas6 signaling mechanisms in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.

AXL is a receptor tyrosine kinase commonly associated with a variety of human cancers. Along with its ligand Gas6 (growth arrest-specific protein 6), AXL is emerging as an important regulator of neuroendocrine development and function. AXL signaling in response to Gas6 binding impacts neuroendocrine structure and function at the level of the brain, pituitary, and gonads.

Vibration sorting of small droplets on hydrophilic surface by asymmetric contact-line friction.

Droplet spreading and transport phenomenon is ubiquitous and has been studied by engineered surfaces with a variety of topographic features. To obtain a directional bias in dynamic wetting, hydrophobic surfaces with a geometrical asymmetry are generally used, attributing the directionality to one-sided pinning. Although the pinning may be useful for directional wetting, it usually limits the droplet mobility, especially for small volumes and over wettable surfaces.

Droplet Impact on Asymmetric Hydrophobic Microstructures.

Textured hydrophobic surfaces that repel liquid droplets unidirectionally are found in nature such as butterfly wings and ryegrass leaves and are also essential in technological processes such as self-cleaning and anti-icing. In many occasions, surface textures are oriented to direct rebounding droplets. Surface macrostructures (>100 μm) have often been explored to induce directional rebound.

Detailed modelling of contact line motion in oscillatory wetting.

The experimental results of Xia and Steen for the contact line dynamics of a drop placed on a vertically oscillating surface are analyzed by numerical phase field simulations. The concept of contact line mobility or friction is discussed, and an angle-dependent model is formulated. The results of numerical simulations based on this model are compared to the detailed experimental results of Xia and Steen with good general agreement.