In order to investigate Gal-3 as a potential TAM ligand, two human cancer cell lines were selected for comparative experiments according to their TAM receptor expression profiles: the head and neck cancer cell line SCC-25, which expresses both Axl and Tyro3, and the bladder cancer cell line MGH-U3, which expresses Tyro3 only. The gene discussed is AXL; the disease is urinary bladder carcinoma.