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An Orthotopic Model of Serous Ovarian Cancer in Immunocompetent Mice for in vivo Tumor Imaging and Monitoring of Tumor Immune Responses
Published on: November 29, 2010
Cell-free 59 kDa immunoreactive integrin-linked kinase: a novel marker for ovarian carcinoma
Nuzhat Ahmed1, Karen Oliva, Greg E Rice
1Gynaecological Cancer Research Centre, Royal Women's Hospital and The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. nuzhata@unimelb.edu.au
Insights
Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is elevated in ovarian cancer patients' serum and peritoneal fluid, showing potential as a biomarker for early detection and treatment monitoring. This finding aids in understanding ovarian cancer progression and management.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) expression is known to be upregulated in ovarian carcinomas.
- Ovarian cancer cells exhibit high ILK expression, suggesting its role in tumorigenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine cell-free 59 kDa immunoreactive (ir)ILK in serum and peritoneal fluid (PTF) of ovarian cancer patients.
- To evaluate irILK's potential as a serum biomarker for early-stage ovarian cancer screening.
- To assess irILK's utility in monitoring patient clinical status post-chemotherapy.
Main Methods:
- Western blotting was used to evaluate irILK expression in serum from normal, benign, and malignant ovarian tumor patients.
- irILK was assessed in peritoneal fluid (PTF) and tissue-conditioned medium from ovarian tumors.
- Serum irILK levels were compared with cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) before and after chemotherapy.
Main Results:
- Serum irILK expression was 6-9 fold higher in patients with grade 1-3 ovarian cancer compared to controls (P < 0.01).
- High irILK expression was detected in all tested PTF samples.
- Serum irILK levels decreased to normal post-chemotherapy, correlating with CA 125 changes.
Conclusions:
- irILK functions as an ovarian tumor-associated antigen.
- Serum irILK shows promise as a biomarker for early ovarian cancer detection.
- irILK can serve as a marker for monitoring treatment response in ovarian cancer patients.
Purpose:
We reported that the expression of integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is up-regulated in ovarian carcinomas and that ovarian cancer cells have high expression of ILK. In this study, we have examined the expression of cell-free 59 kDa immunoreactive (ir)ILK in the serum and peritoneal fluid (PTF) of patients with ovarian cancer and evaluated its potential as a serum biomarker for early-stage screening and for monitoring clinical status of patients after chemotherapy treatment.
Experimental Design:
Thirty-six serum specimens, including normal (n = 6), benign (n = 6), borderline (n = 4), grade 1 (n = 5), grade 2 (n = 5), and grade 3 (n = 10), were evaluated for the expression of irILK by Western blotting. The expression of irILK was evaluated in PTF (n = 10) and peritoneal washings from women with benign ovarian cysts (n = 4). In addition, tissue-conditioned medium obtained from the cultures of primary ovarian tumors (n = 9) was examined for the presence of irILK. Finally, the potential of serum irILK as a biomarker for ovarian cancer screening was evaluated by comparison with cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) concentrations in cancer patients before and after chemotherapy.
Results:
irILK expression was present in normal serum and in serum of patients with benign ovarian tumors. irILK expression was 6-9-fold higher in the serum of patients with grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 ovarian cancer than in the serum of healthy volunteers and patients with benign ovarian tumors (P < 0.01). Enhanced expression of irILK in the serum of ovarian cancer patients correlated with the concentration of CA 125. High expression of irILK was present in all 10 PTF tested. Tissue-conditioned medium prepared from malignant ovarian tumors had 4-fold more irILK expression than conditioned medium obtained from borderline and benign tumors (P < 0.01). irILK expression in serum of cancer patients was reduced to basal normal levels after six cycles of Taxol/carboplatin and was consistent with the change of CA 125 levels before and after chemotherapy.
Conclusions:
These data suggest that irILK is an ovarian tumor-associated antigen and implicates its potential not only as a biomarker for early-stage screening but also as a marker for monitoring the clinical condition of patients after treatment.
