Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38545840›Full record

ArticleCancer medicine2024

Targeting the receptor tyrosine kinase MerTK shows therapeutic value in gastric adenocarcinoma.

Naita Maren Wirsik, Mingyi Chen, Liping He, Uraz Yasar, Justus Gaukel, Alexander Quaas, Henrik Nienhüser, Ella Leugner, Shuai Yuan, Nikolai Schleussner and 4 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Genetic variants ofFrontiers in immunology · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. MERTK Inhibition as a Targeted Novel Cancer Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Naita Maren WirsikDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Mingyi ChenDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Liping HeDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Uraz YasarDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Justus GaukelDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4005-732X
Alexander QuaasInstitute of Pathology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Henrik NienhüserDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Ella LeugnerDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Shuai YuanDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Nikolai SchleussnerDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Jin-On JungDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-6121-0114
Jadie Sue PlückerDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Martin SchneiderDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Thomas SchmidtDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7166-3675
Heidelberg University · DEUniversity Hospital Cologne · DE

Funding

Cologne Clinician Scientist Program (CCSP)/Faculty of Medicine/University of CologneFoundation of Stiftung Chirurgie of the surgical department of the University Hospital HeidelbergGerman Research Foundation FI 773/15-1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite multiple therapeutic modalities, the overall survival of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma remains poor, especially for advanced tumor stages. Although the tyrosine kinase MerTK has shown therapeutic relevance in several tumor entities, its potential effects in gastric adenocarcinoma have not yet been sufficiently characterized.

methodsMerTK expression and its influence on patient survival were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in a cohort of 140 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. CRISPR/Cas9 knockout and siRNA knockdown of MerTK in the gastric cancer cell lines SNU1, SNU5, and MKN45 was used to analyze protein expression, growth, migration, and invasion properties in vitro and in a murine xenograft model. MerTK was pharmacologically targeted with the small molecule inhibitor UNC2025 in vitro and in vivo.

resultsIn patients, high MerTK expression was associated with decreased overall survival (OS) and lymph node metastasis especially in patients without neoadjuvant therapy (p < 0.05). Knockout and knockdown of MerTK reduced cell proliferation and migration both in vitro and in vivo. UNC2025, a small-molecule inhibitor of MerTK, exhibited a significant therapeutic response in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, MerTK expression attenuated the response to neoadjuvant treatment, and its inhibition sensitized tumor cells to 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy in vitro.

conclusionsOur findings demonstrate the potential value of MerTK as a prognostic biomarker for gastric adenocarcinoma. Targeting MerTK may become a new treatment option, especially for patients with advanced tumors, and may overcome resistance to established chemotherapies.

Indexed as

AdenocarcinomaStomach NeoplasmsAnimalsCell Line, TumorCell ProliferationDisease Models, AnimalHumansMicechemotherapygastric adenocarcinomaMerTKsurvivalUNC2025

Identifiers

PMID38545840
PMCPMC10974716
OpenAlexW4393264096

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.