Interaction Between Estrogen Receptor Alpha and Insulin/IGF Signaling in Breast Cancer

Title: Interaction Between Estrogen Receptor Alpha and Insulin/IGF Signaling in Breast Cancer

Volume: 8 Issue: 7

Author(s): Marilena Lanzino, Catia Morelli, Cecilia Garofalo, Maria Luisa Panno, Loredana Mauro, Sebastiano Ando and Diego Sisci

Affiliation:

Keywords: Estrogen receptor, IGF-I, IGF-IR, Shc, IRS-1, PI3K, Akt, MNAR, ErbB, EGFR

Abstract: Estrogens and insulin/Insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) have potent positive effects on the proliferation of mammary epithelial cells and estrogen-dependent breast cancer cells. A cooperative crosstalk between estrogens and insulin/ IGF-I signaling pathways exists and it plays a critical role in breast carcinogenesis, tumor cell proliferation, differentiation and survival through the modulation of multiple biological events. The biological effects of estrogens are mainly mediated by the activation of estrogen receptor (ERα) whose activity is deeply influenced by the insulin/IGF-I signaling pathway. On the other hand, estrogens enhance insulin signaling by increasing the expression and/or the functional activity of some proteins involved in the insulin/IGF-I pathway. This review will focus on the critical node of the IGF-I network involved in the crosstalk with ERα and implicated in breast cancer development and progression.

Cite this article as:

Lanzino Marilena, Morelli Catia, Garofalo Cecilia, Panno Luisa Maria, Mauro Loredana, Ando Sebastiano and Sisci Diego, Interaction Between Estrogen Receptor Alpha and Insulin/IGF Signaling in Breast Cancer, Current Cancer Drug Targets 2008; 8 (7) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/156800908786241104