title: AXL receptor tyrosine kinase is increased in patients with heart failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  AXL is a membrane receptor tyrosine kinase highly expressed in the heart and has a conspicuous role in cardiovascular physiology. The role of AXL in heart failure (HF) has not been previously addressed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AXL protein was enhanced 6-fold in myocardial biopsies of end-stage HF patients undergoing heart transplantation compared to controls from heart donors (P<0.0001). Next, we performed a transversal study of patients with chronic HF (n=192) and a group of controls with no HF (n=67). sAXL and BNP circulating levels were quantified and clinical and demographic data were collected. sAXL levels in serum were higher in HF (86.3 ± 2.0 ng/mL) than in controls (67.8 ± 2.0 ng/mL; P<0.0001). Also, sAXL correlated with several parameters associated with worse prognosis in HF. Linear regression analysis indicated that serum creatinine, systolic blood pressure and atrial fibrillation, but not BNP levels, were predictive of sAXL levels. Cox regression analysis indicated that high sAXL values at enrollment time were related to the major HF events (all-cause mortality, heart transplantation and HF hospitalizations) at one year follow-up (P<0.001), adding predictive value to high BNP levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Myocardial expression and serum concentration of AXL is elevated in HF patients compared to controls. Furthermore, peripheral sAXL correlates with parameters associated with the progression of HF and with HF events at short term follow-up. All together these results suggest that sAXL could belong to a new molecular pathway involved in myocardial damage in HF, independent from BNP.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain; Thorax Institute, Cardiology Department, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: mbatlle@clinic.cat.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Batlle
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain; Department of Cell Death and Proliferation at Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques de Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Recarte-Pelz
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IIB Sant Pau), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Roig
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain; Thorax Institute, Cardiology Department, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Castel
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain; Thorax Institute, Cardiology Department, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cardona
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain; Thorax Institute, Cardiology Department, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farrero
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain; Thorax Institute, Cardiology Department, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Ortiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain; Thorax Institute, Cardiology Department, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Pulgarín
authors.affiliation: Pathological Anatomy Department, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ramírez
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain; Thorax Institute, Cardiology Department, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pérez-Villa
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain; Department of Cell Death and Proliferation at Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques de Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: García de Frutos
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000201:enzymology*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000097:blood*; D000094963:Axl Receptor Tyrosine Kinase
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D000094963:Axl Receptor Tyrosine Kinase; C000722289:AXL protein, human
keywords: AXL receptor tyrosine kinase; Heart failure; Myocardial damage; Prognosis