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Protein / target

Tyrosine-protein kinase receptor UFO

Encoded byAXLP30530Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
2
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
30
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Approved Drug

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase

Strongest disease association

Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute

Via encoding gene AXL · Literature evidence · score 0.60

Therapeutic position

Established drug target

Small molecules

Research activity

Emerging research

3 papers · latest 2025

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function overview

Receptor tyrosine kinase that transduces signals from the extracellular matrix into the cytoplasm by binding growth factor GAS6 and which is thus regulating many physiological processes including cell survival, cell proliferation, migration and differentiation.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Receptor tyrosine kinase that transduces signals from the extracellular matrix into the cytoplasm by binding growth factor GAS6 and which is thus regulating many physiological processes including cell survival, cell proliferation, migration and differentiation. Ligand binding at the cell surface induces dimerization and autophosphorylation of AXL. Following activation by ligand, AXL binds and induces tyrosine phosphorylation of PI3-kinase subunits PIK3R1, PIK3R2 and PIK3R3; but also GRB2, PLCG1, LCK and PTPN11. Other downstream substrate candidates for AXL are CBL, NCK2, SOCS1 and TNS2. Recruitment of GRB2 and phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase regulatory subunits by AXL leads to the downstream activation of the AKT kinase. GAS6/AXL signaling plays a role in various processes such as endothelial cell survival during acidification by preventing apoptosis, optimal cytokine signaling during human natural killer cell development, hepatic regeneration, gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuron survival and migration, platelet activation, or regulation of thrombotic responses. Also plays an important role in inhibition of Toll-like receptors (TLRs)-mediated innate immune response

Subcellular location

Cell membrane
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (37)

Domains & features

Ig-like C2-type 1Ig-like C2-type 2Fibronectin type-III 1Fibronectin type-III 2Protein kinase

Gene Ontology

  • Ccell surface
  • Cextracellular exosome
  • Cextracellular space
  • Cplasma membrane
  • Creceptor complex
  • FATP binding
  • Fphosphatidylserine binding
  • Fprotein tyrosine kinase activity
  • Ftransmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity
  • Fvirus receptor activity
  • Pcell maturation
  • Pcell migration

894 aa · 98 kDa · 2 isoforms

Biological roles

Reactome v97

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Receptor tyrosine kinase signallingUniProt · GOGrowth-factor signallingGOCell proliferation & survivalUniProtCell migrationGOImmune signallingUniProt · GOHaemostasisUniProt · GO
View supporting evidence

Receptor tyrosine kinase signalling

  • ·Receptor tyrosine kinase that transduces signals from the extracellular matrix into the…
  • ·transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity
  • ·cell surface receptor protein tyrosine kinase signaling pathway

Growth-factor signalling

  • ·vascular endothelial growth factor receptor signaling pathway

Cell proliferation & survival

  • ·Receptor tyrosine kinase that transduces signals from the extracellular matrix into the…

Cell migration

  • ·cell migration

Immune signalling

  • ·Receptor tyrosine kinase that transduces signals from the extracellular matrix into the…
  • ·innate immune response
  • ·positive regulation of cytokine-mediated signaling pathway

Haemostasis

  • ·Receptor tyrosine kinase that transduces signals from the extracellular matrix into the…
  • ·platelet activation
View underlying pathways (2)

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Interaction neighbourhood

STRING v12.0

Proteins with the strongest functional or physical association. Node size and line weight reflect STRING confidence; hover or select a partner to inspect one association.

GAS6PROS1SRCSHC1PLCG1GRB2GAB1IFNAR1PLCG2JAK2AXL

10 strongest partners — larger node and heavier line mean higher confidence

Functional and physical associations from STRING v12.0. Only associations with this protein are drawn — partner-to-partner links are not part of this evidence.

Approved medicines with mapped indications

1 medicine · 1 area

Approved therapies targeting this protein, grouped by what they are approved to treat — the disease-first view of the medicines below. Relationships come from the canonical approved-indication graph (ChEMBL phase-4), the same source as the drug cards.

Neoplasms1 medicine

2 medicines meet Open Targets' target-level approved-medicine definition; the 1 shown here are those on this page with a canonical approved disease indication in the graph. Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.

Drugs targeting this protein

1

How approved and investigational drugs engage this protein — mechanism and action type, direct vs complex targeting, and how broadly each acts across other targets. A drug-first view (the section above groups the approved ones disease-first); direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.

gilteritinib
Narrow target profileApprovedInhibitor

Tyrosine-protein kinase receptor UFO inhibitor

Indicated for Neoplasms

Direct interaction with this protein · 1 of 2 recorded protein targets — narrow recorded profile

ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.

Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene AXL

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene AXL that encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.

Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute
0.74Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.60

Neoplasms
0.55Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.41

Leukemia, Myeloid
0.50Limited support

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.40

Neurodegenerative Diseases
0.38Preliminary

Pathway evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.57 · no direct causal or clinical evidence

Alzheimer's Disease
0.38Preliminary

Pathway evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.54 · no direct causal or clinical evidence

View evidence synthesis (5)
Leukemia, Myeloid, AcuteModerately supported
0.74
agreement 0.590.90
Clinical83%Literature17%

Open Targets aggregate 0.60 · 2 independent evidence families

NeoplasmsModerately supported
0.55
agreement 0.400.71
Clinical76%Literature24%

Open Targets aggregate 0.41 · 2 independent evidence families

Leukemia, MyeloidLimited support
0.50
agreement 0.340.65
Clinical97%Literature3%

Open Targets aggregate 0.40 · 2 independent evidence families

Neurodegenerative DiseasesPreliminary
0.38
agreement 0.200.56
Pathway97%Literature3%

Open Targets aggregate 0.57 · 2 independent evidence families · no direct causal or clinical evidence

Alzheimer's DiseasePreliminary
0.38
agreement 0.200.56
Pathway88%Literature12%

Open Targets aggregate 0.54 · 2 independent evidence families · no direct causal or clinical evidence

The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.

Show all associations
Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute0.60
Neurodegenerative Diseases0.57
Alzheimer's Disease0.54
Multiple Sclerosis0.53
Parkinson's Disease0.53
Lysosomal Storage Diseases0.53
Dengue0.50
Neoplasms0.41
Leukemia, Myeloid0.40

Drug development

7 compounds recorded · 2 approved · 5 in clinical development

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines. Distinct from the 1 drug that targets this protein in Forefront's canonical graph (1 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (7)
BEMCENTINIBPhase 3
NINGETINIBPhase 2
BPI-9016Phase 1
MECBOTAMAB VEDOTINPhase 2
ENAPOTAMAB VEDOTINPhase 1 2
GILTERITINIBApproval
GILTERITINIB FUMARATEApproval

Open Targets known-drugs universe. Drug name and highest clinical stage only — the disease relationship is NOT read from this slice (it carries trial-context noise); approved indications come from the canonical graph above.

Tractability

Small moleculesStrong

Approved Drug and Structure with Ligand support this modality.

AntibodiesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot loc high conf and go cc high conf) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot ubiquitination and database ubiquitination) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Other modalitiesStrong

Advanced Clinical support this modality.

View underlying tractability evidence (12)
SM · Approved DrugSM · Structure with LigandSM · High-Quality LigandSM · Druggable FamilyAB · UniProt loc high confAB · GO CC high confAB · UniProt SigP or TMHMMAB · Human Protein Atlas locPR · UniProt UbiquitinationPR · Database UbiquitinationPR · Small Molecule BinderOC · Advanced Clinical

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Safety-related annotations

coronary artery diseaseClinPGx

Terms indexed against this target in Open Targets' safety data, with their datasource. These are annotations, not causal claims: the direction of effect (whether activation or inhibition is implicated), species and evidence strength are not captured here, so an entry does not mean that modulating this target is known to cause that condition.

Clinical trials

30

Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein. Ranked by active status, then clinical phase and recency, and spread across the targeting drugs.

View all trials (26)

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · via gilteritinib · NCT03836209

RECRUITING · via gilteritinib · NCT03013998

RECRUITING · via gilteritinib · NCT06225427

RECRUITING · via gilteritinib · NCT05010772

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

3

Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for a drug that targets this protein, plus publications where such a drug is a genuine subject. Every item is reached indirectly through the drug, not the protein itself; incidental mentions (a paper that merely measures a drug) and press items are excluded.

  1. Trial status changed2026-08-24

    An Escalation/Expansion, Open Label, Multicenter Study of Iadademstat and Gilteritinib in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (R/R AML) With FMS-like Tyrosine Kinase Mutation (FLT3 Mut+): The FRIDA Study

    Status changed to Active, not recruiting · ClinicalTrials.gov · via gilteritinib

  2. Regulatory approval2019-10-24

    Approval: Xospata (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via gilteritinib

  3. New publication2019-10-01
    Gilteritinib or Chemotherapy for Relapsed or Refractory <i>FLT3</i>-Mutated AML.

    The New England journal of medicine · 2019 · 966 citations · Europe PMC · via gilteritinib

Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.

Research activity

3 papers · to 2025

Papers linked directly to this protein. This is the protein's own literature — descriptor-derived papers are kept separate below.

Most cited

Recent

Europe PMC papers linked directly to this protein.