Abstract
Insulin-like growth factors (IGF) stimulate cell growth in part by increasing amino acid uptake. xCT (SLC7A11) encodes the functional subunit of the cell surface transport system xC-, which mediates cystine uptake, a pivotal step in glutathione synthesis and cellular redox control. In this study, we show that IGF-I regulates cystine uptake and cellular redox status by activating the expression and function of xCT in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer cells by a mechanism that relies on the IGF receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1). Breast cancer cell proliferation mediated by IGF-I was suppressed by attenuating xCT expression or blocking xCT activity with the pharmacologic inhibitor sulfasalazine (SASP). Notably, SASP sensitized breast cancer cells to inhibitors of the type I IGF receptor (IGF-IR) in a manner reversed by the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger N-Acetyl-L-cysteine. Thus, IGF-I promoted the proliferation of ER+ breast cancer cells by regulating xC- transporter function to protect cancer cells from ROS in an IRS-1-dependent manner. Our findings suggest that inhibiting xC - transporter function may synergize with modalities that target the IGF-IR to heighten their therapeutic effects.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2295-2305 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Cancer Research |
Volume | 74 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 15 2014 |