Work

Insulin promotes growth in breast cancer cells through the type I IGF receptor in insulin receptor deficient cells

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. The upregulation of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system observed in certain types of breast cancers was linked to growth, metastasis, and survival resulting in multiple strategies designed to target the type I IGF receptor (IGF-1R) in breast cancer. These attempts failed to prove beneficial and it has been suggested that insulin receptor (IR) could also play an important role in breast cancer biology. To better understand the IR's role in breast cancer cells, the receptor was deleted from MCF-7L cells using CRISPR technology, and fluorescence-assisted cell sorting was used to obtain clone 35 (CL35). It was found that CL35 activated signaling pathways upon insulin stimulation despite the absence of IR expression. We hypothesized that CL35 used a surrogate receptor for sustained growth and development. IGF-1R was able to activate insulin signaling and growth in CL35. Thus, insulin may play a central role in regulating breast cancer growth due to its ability to activate all the receptors of the IGF family. These findings argue that dual targeting of IR and IGF-IR may be required to inhibit breast cancer growth.

Source: Experimental Cell Research

DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2023.113862

Authors: Marvis Monteiro, Xihong Zhang, Douglas Yee

Institutions: University of Minnesota, Purdue University West Lafayette, Masonic Cancer Center

Language: English

Topic: Growth Hormone and Insulin-like Growth Factors

Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,910