title: Integrin-linked kinase regulates vascular morphogenesis induced by vascular endothelial growth factor.
abstract: Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is one of the signaling moieties that interact with the cytoplasmic domains of integrin beta1 and beta3 subunits. Integrin-mediated outside-in signals cooperate with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor to promote morphological changes, cell proliferation and motility in endothelial cells. In this report we demonstrate that VEGF-induced vessel morphogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) was inhibited by the transfection of a dominant negative, kinase-deficient ILK (ILK-KD), as well as by treatment with the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor LY294002. VEGF induced phosphorylation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt), a regulator of cell survival and apoptosis, on serine 473, but not on threonine 308, in an ILK-dependent manner. Furthermore, transfection of antisense ILK (ILK-AS) blocked the survival effect of VEGF in annexin-V binding assays, and a VEGF-mediated decrease in caspase activity was reversed by both ILK-KD and ILK-AS as measured by a homogeneous caspase-3/7 assay. We also demonstrate that both chemotactic migration and cell proliferation of HUVEC induced by VEGF were suppressed by the inhibition of ILK. We conclude that ILK plays an important role in vascular morphogenesis mediated by VEGF.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Laboratory, Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, 1-27 Misugidai, Hanno, Saitama, 357-8527, Japan.
authors.forename: Yayoi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitazato
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Basaki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division; D048429:Cell Size; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000502:physiology; D002867:Chromones / Q000494:pharmacology; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000378:metabolism; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D019012:Integrin beta1 / Q000378:metabolism; D039661:Integrin beta3 / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D009025:Morpholines / Q000494:pharmacology; D009154:Mutation; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D014471:Umbilical Veins / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*; D000099200:Scaffold Protein ILK
chemical_list: D020169:Caspases; D002867:Chromones; D024042:Collagen Type I; D019012:Integrin beta1; D039661:Integrin beta3; D009025:Morpholines; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D000099200:Scaffold Protein ILK; C085911:2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one; C494918:AKT1 protein, human