Disease relevance of ILK

• Chicken heterophils activated in vivo following the intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of Salmonella enteritidis-immune T lymphokines (SE-ILK) have been implicated in the protection against SE organ invasion [1].
• RESULTS: Genes found by RAP-PCR to undergo up-regulation in hypoxia included TIMP-1 and integrin-linked kinase [2].

High impact information on ILK

• Adhesion to surface-adsorbed matrix proteins based on beta1 and beta3 integrin was enhanced following ILK depletion, whereas cell spreading, migration and multilayer alignment into capillary-like structures on Matrigel were impaired [3].
• We conclude that ILK is an important regulator of the endothelial phenotype and vascular network formation by directing the assembly and/or maturation of alpha5beta1-competent matrix-forming adhesions [3].
• ILK is required for the assembly of matrix-forming adhesions and capillary morphogenesis in endothelial cells [3].
• Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is a multidomain protein that interacts with the cytoplasmic tail of integrin beta subunits and is thought to participate in integrin-mediated signal transduction [3].
• In salmosin-treated BCE cells, focal adhesion kinase (FAK) was dephosphorylated and expression of paxillin and p130(CAS) was decreased, but PI3 kinase, ILK, and beta-catenin were not expressed in decreased amounts or modified, suggesting that salmosin inactivated FAK-dependent integrin signaling pathways [4].

Biological context of ILK

• Conversely, ILK knock-down by siRNA transfection decreases active Rac-1 [5].
• In the 2nd experiment, the function of the heterophils from ILK-treated birds was compared with that of the control cells in adherence, chemotaxis, and phagocytosis assays [6].

Anatomical context of ILK

• SE-ILK induces a heterophilia and directly (or indirectly) activates the granulocytes [1].
• Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is one such partner of beta1 integrins that participates in dynamic rearrangement of cell-matrix adhesions and cell spreading by mechanisms that are not well understood [5].
• CONCLUSIONS: Oxygen tension modulates the abundance of mRNAs encoding structural molecules, several cytokines, beta1 integrin and integrin-linked kinase in articular chondrocytes [2].

Associations of ILK with chemical compounds

• Endogenous ILK was found to associate with PKL (paxillin kinase linker) and the Rac/Cdc42 guanine nucleotide exchange factor betaPIX [5].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of ILK

• Experimentally, we have used the intraperitoneal injection as the standard method of administering ILK to neonatal poultry [6].

References