ILK and dilated cardiomyopathy: We found that ILK administration improved the prognosis of dilated cardiomyopathy in terms of survival, with associated marked improvements in both functional and structural parameters after ILK treatment: enhanced cardiac function, relatively preserved left ventricular diameter and wall thickness, attenuated interstitial fibrosis, decreased cardiomyocyte apoptosis, increased cardiomyocyte proliferation, decreased inflammatory cell infiltration, reduced oxidative stress and diminished autophagic vacuole accumulation.