Objectives: Gas6, the protein product of the growth arrest-specific gene 6 (gas6), a member of the vitamin K-dependent protein family, was identified as a ligand for the Axl/Sky family of receptor tyrosine kinases. The aim is to study for the presence of Gas6 and its receptor Axl and Sky related to specific growth in the ovarian cancers, and to evaluate their plausible growth potential and mechanism.
Methods: In ovarian cancers of 90 cases, the histoscores and mRNA levels of Gas6, Axl and Sky were determined by immunohistochemistry and competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction-Southern blot analysis using the recombinant RNA, respectively.
Results: The histoscores and mRNA levels of Gas6 and Axl in ovarian cancers were significantly higher than in normal ovaries, regardless of histopathological type or clinical stage of ovarian cancers.
Conclusions: Gas6/Axl pathway could play a role in the complex events taking place during the early changes of ovarian cancer progression.
Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel