MERTK and cancer: Moreover, Mertk is cleaved by ADAM17 under inflammatory conditions such as the addition of LPS, in patients with autoimmunity such as SLE, and in regions of atherosclerotic plaques, resulting in a non-functional Mertk receptor and reduced efferocytosis [66,67] As discussed below, this ability to dynamically alter inhibitory PS receptors depending on the cellular context and milieu of the tissue microenvironment has relevance in cancer models, particularly how these inhibitory signals can be therapeutically manipulated.