Integrin-linked kinase in the vascular smooth muscle cell response to arterial injury.
Published: 2006
Language: eng
Number of pages: 104
ISBN-13: 9780494212516
Description: Integrin linked kinase (ILK) is a serine/threonine protein kinase that is activated by integrin ligation or growth factor stimulation, and mediates proliferation and migration in several cell types. We measured ILK expression and activity in VSMCs following balloon injury of the rat carotid artery and in wounded VSMC cultures. Immunoblots showed a decrease in ILK protein following vascular injury that was not attributable to the loss of endothelium. However immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting revealed a relatively high level of ILK expression in the neointima. By contrast, no change in ILK expression followed wounding in vitro. Kinase assays showed no change in ILK activity after wounding in vivo or in vitro. ILK expression was silenced using siRNA, with no effect on phosphorylation of the downstream mediators Akt or GSK3beta. However, silencing ILK accelerated wound healing measured in an in vitro assay, suggesting that ILK may be an important scaffolding molecule affecting cell migration.
Notes: Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-03, page: 1386.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Toronto, 2006.

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