Characterisation of integrin-linked kinase signalling in sporadic human colon cancer

The putative oncogene, integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is a protein serine/threonine kinase that has been reported to regulate a number of biological properties including anchorage-independent cell cycle progression, tumour cell invasion and apoptosis. Overexpression of ILK has been documented in a wide variety of human malignancies including Ewing's sarcoma (ES), primitive neural ectodermal tumours (PNETs) and prostate tumours (PT). We recently reported that ILK signalling was also dysregulated in patients with the genetic condition familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), a precursor to colon cancer. In this study, we extended our previous work by investigating the ILK-signalling pathway in sporadic human colon cancer and representative lymph node metastases. The data indicate that the ILK protein is significantly hyperexpressed in malignant acini in relation to normal crypts. Moreover, overexpression of ILK not only coincided with increased MBP phosphotransferase activity but as well with effects on downstream targets like GSK3β. Based upon the presented data, we propose that ILK signalling is dysregulated early during the development of human colon cancer, and that selective inhibition of this molecule alone or in combination with the standard therapeutic modality might be a more effective means of treating colon cancer.