Gas6 (growth arrest-specific gene 6) is a widely expressed vitamin K-dependent protein that is involved in many biological processes such as homeostatic regulation, inflammation and repair/fibrotic processes. It is known that it is the main ligand of TAMs, a tyrosine kinase receptor family of three members, namely MerTK, Tyro-3 and Axl, for which it displays the highest affinity. Gas6/TAM axis activation is known to be involved in modulating inflammatory responses as well as fibrotic evolution in many different pathological conditions. The Axl is a SARS-CoV-2 infection driver, the use of existing Axl inhibitors is beneficial for COVID-19 management.
Article Type | Main Findings | Reference | ||||
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Main Findings | Reference | |||||
Clinical study | In a cohort of moderate/severe COVID-19 patients admitted to the high-dependency/subintensive ward during the third wave of the pandemic, plasma Gas6 levels at admission predicted an adverse disease outcome. | [77][20] | ||||
Review | Description of the possible Gas6/TAM axis involvement in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 complications. Overview of the first studies focused on TAM-targeted inhibition for COVID-19 management. TAM (in particular Axl) signaling is supposed to be involved at different stages of COVID-19 evolution. In particular, it has been supposed that the TAM pathway supports viral entry but also the development of immunothrombosis, which has been described to be associated with respiratory failure. According to Axl’s supposed role in the viral infection process, the already clinically available Axl inhibitors are being tested in clinical trials as anti-COVID-19 drugs. |
[92] | ||||
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[ | 35 | ] | Clinical study | In a cohort of COVID-19 patients admitted to the general wards or the intensive care unit during the first wave of the pandemic, plasma Gas6 levels correlated with negative disease evolution. | ||
Review | Overview of Axl involvement in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Axl has been described as an alternative receptor for SARS-CoV-2 viral entry. Interestingly, the interaction involves the spike protein N-terminal domain instead of the receptor binding domain that is recognized by ACE-2. Axl’s role as an entry receptor appears of particular interest in those cells and tissues where it is not co-expressed with ACE-2. | [78][21] | ||||
[ | 93 | ][36] | Clinical study | In a cohort of severe COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit during the first wave of the pandemic, plasma Gas6 levels discriminated survivors from nonsurvivors. | Overview of Axl inhibitors as potential pharmacological treatments for COVID-19. | |
Review | Axl receptor acts as an alternative receptor for SARS-CoV-2 entry and its pharmacological inhibitors are currently being tested as potential anti-COVID-19 drugs. | [79][22] | ||||
[ | 94 | ][37] | Clinical study | In a cohort of COVID-19 patients admitted to the emergency department during the first wave of the pandemic plasma Gas6 and Axl levels reflect COVID-19 severity and could predict disease evolution. | [80][23] | |
Clinical study | In a cohort of COVID-19 patients admitted to the pediatric emergency department, plasma Gas6 and MerTK levels were lower when compared to healthy controls. | [81][24] | ||||
In vitro study | Identification of Axl as a candidate receptor involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection and as a potential pharmacological target for clinical interventions. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has been described as able to bind the Axl receptor and to use it as an alternative entry route, as confirmed by the lower viral load observed after Axl knockout or blocking with the soluble recombinant protein. Based on such observations, the authors suggest the use of soluble recombinant human-grade Axl as a potential therapeutic intervention in COVID-19 patients. |
Preclinical study | Identification of gilteritinib as an in vitro antiviral agent and confirmation of its protective effect in vivo (Syrian hamster model). Gilteritinib’s antiviral effect has been supposed to rely on its ability to interfere with Axl-mediated viral entry. | |||
Review | Overview of Axl inhibitors (gilteritinib and bemcentinib) as antiviral agents against COVID-19. Gilteritinib and bemcentinib antiviral action mainly rely on their ability to inhibit Axl signaling and consequently the downstream p38/MAPK pathway. |
[95][82][25] | ||||
In vitro study | Overview of Axl’s role in SARS-CoV-2 infection and role of its inhibitor bemcentinib as an antiviral agent. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has been described as able to directly bind Axl, which can then act as an alternative receptor for virus entry, and the pharmacological inhibition of the Axl pathway by bemcentinib strongly reduced viral load. |
[83][26] | ||||
In vitro study | Identification of gilteritinib as an antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2. Gilteritinib’s antiviral effect is supposed to rely on its ability to activate innate immunity by blocking Axl, which acts as an inhibitor of innate immune responses. |
[ | [85][28] | |||
[ | 38 | ] | 84][27 | In vitro study | Identification of bemcentinib as an antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2 in different cellular lines. The authors suppose that the observed pharmacological effect relies on Axl involvement in viral entry, as previously observed for other viral agents. |
[86][29] |
In vitro study | Identification of gilteritinib as a potent antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2. Gilteritinib inhibits Axl and consequently downregulates the p38/MAPK pathway, which is involved in proinflammatory cytokine production. |
[87][30] | ||||
In vitro study | Identification of bemcentinib as an antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2. Bemcentinib inhibits Axl, which has been observed to be upregulated in COVID-19-infected lung cells. As Axl-mediated signaling is known to downregulate interferon-related host immune responses, its pharmacological inhibition could help in reducing viral infection. |
[88][31] | ||||
Clinical trial | Overview of an ongoing clinical trial aimed to evaluate different drugs, including bemcentinib, as candidate agents for COVID-19 treatment. | [89][32] | ||||
Case report | Case report showing the successful use of gilteritinib in a patient with FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia and severe COVID-19. | [90][33] | ||||
In vitro study | Identification of Axl as a candidate pharmacological target to revert SARS-CoV-2-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Axl is a tyrosine kinase receptor typical of a mesenchymal phenotype, the expression of which is induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection and drives the EMT responsible for ARDS. The authors hypothesize that Axl inhibition by gilteritinib and bemcentinib, two drugs with proven antiviral activity, will not only reduce viral infection load but also will improve patients’ conditions by reverting EMT. |
[91][34] |
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