In vitro three dimensional culture of hepatocellular carcinoma to measure prognosis and responsiveness to chemotherapeutic agents.

Background: Understanding the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) informs plans for care. Tumor morphology and molecular markers have been correlated with outcomes. Three-dimensional tissue culture (3DTC) allows for direct in vitro measurement of a tumor's ability to grow and metastasize.

Integrin-linked kinase inhibitor KP-392 demonstrates clinical benefits in an orthotopic human non-small cell lung cancer model.

Introduction: The overexpression of integrin-linked kinase (ILK) has been implicated in the promotion of tumor invasion and metastasis. We studied the anticancer effects of KP-392, a potent selective inhibitor of ILK in the NCI-H460 cell line. In vitro, KP-392 inhibited ILK activity of H460 cells.

Regulation of tumor angiogenesis by integrin-linked kinase (ILK).

We show that integrin-linked kinase (ILK) stimulates the expression of VEGF by stimulating HIF-1alpha protein expression in a PKB/Akt- and mTOR/FRAP-dependent manner. In human prostate cancer cells, knockdown of ILK expression with siRNA, or inhibition of ILK activity, results in significant inhibition of HIF-1alpha and VEGF expression. In endothelial cells, VEGF stimulates ILK activity, and inhibition of ILK expression or activity results in the inhibition of VEGF-mediated endothelial cell migration, capillary formation in vitro, and angiogenesis in vivo.