ZytoLight ® SPEC MERTK/2q11 Dual Color Probe

The ZytoLight ® SPEC MERTK/2q11 Dual Color Probe is designed for the detection of amplifications of the chromosomal region harboring the MERTK gene. The MERTK (MER proto-oncogene, tyrosine kinase, a.k.a. MER, c-Eyk) gene is located on chromosome 2q13 and encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase which is a member of the TAM (TYRO3/AXL/MERTK) family. Binding of the ligands Protein S or growth arrest-specific 6 (GAS6) to MERTK activates the downstream MAPK and PI3K/Akt antiapoptotic pathways, thereby promoting proliferation and survival of normal and cancer cells. Additional downstream pathways lead to enhanced migration and invasion of tumor cells. Ectopic expression or overexpression of MERTK has been demonstrated in many human cancers, e.g. ALL, AML, astrocytoma, breast cancer, gastric cancer, mantle cell lymphoma, melanoma, and NSCLC. In NSCLC, MERTK inhibition was shown to increase apoptosis and to decrease tumor formation in a mouse model. In melanomas, MERTK expression was shown to correlate with disease progression, with the highest expression in metastatic melanomas. In addition, MERTK inhibition diminished tumor size by 60% in a human melanoma xenograft model. In gastric cancer patients, MERTK expression is associated with a shorter overall survival. Hence, the identification of MERTK gene copy number changes by Fluorescence in situ Hybridization and targeted MERTK signaling inhibition may be of therapeutic significance in various types of tumors.