For example, Li et al, have shown that Axl is expressed in the cardiomyocytes in patients with sepsis, exogenous recombinant Gas6 can inhibit the activation of Axl/PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway caused by bacterial infection, thereby inhibiting tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a release and apoptosis, ameliorating sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction (65). Here, AXL is linked to bacterial infectious disease.