Abstract P4-02-01: Targeting insulin receptor in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer
Authors: Cao Jingran , Fettig Lynsey M. , LaPara Kelly , Zhang Xihong , Murikipudi Sylaja , Delpero Andrea R. , Lancaster Thomas M. , Zion Todd C. , Yee Douglas 
Published: March 2022

Obesity and metabolic dysfunction are on the rise in the United States. Hyperinsulinemia, frequently seen in these conditions, correlates with an increased risk of development and mortality from estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. Expression of components of the insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) family of proteins promote cancer cell growth in vitro, link to shorter progression-free survival, and is associates with an increased risk of metastatic disease and death in breast cancer patients. Previously our lab found that development of resistance to the commonly used ER-targeting drug tamoxifen (Tam) in vitro is associated with a loss of the type I IGF receptor expression with an increased dependence on the homologous insulin receptor (IR). These data argue for targeting IR in breast cancer, but concern has been raised due to the potential of disrupting glucose homeostasis in patients with or without existing metabolic disease. To address this concern, a novel insulin-Fc fusion protein (AKS-130) was developed to lower blood glucose levels without causing clinical hypoglycemia with a potential to target tumor IR. AKS-130 was found to downregulate IR expression in models of colorectal cancer (HCT-116) and malignant melanoma (WM266.4). Further, AKS-130 suppressed xenograft growth in fed and fasted states. We examined if AKS-130 had similar effects on ER positive breast cancer cells. To test the hypothesis that resistance to endocrine therapy increases the reliance of ER positive breast cancer cells on IR signaling, we utilized the ER positive breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7L, T47D) and their Tam resistant derivatives (MCF-7L TamR, T47D TamR). Similar to in HCT-116 and WM266.4 cells, we found that AKS-130 is a modest agonist of IR in ER+ breast cancer cells. Exposure to AKS-130 led to a marked reduction in IR expression in both parental and TamR cell lines, and was associated with partially suppressed downstream signaling to Akt. Interestingly, AKS130 induced IR downregulation was inhibited by pretreatment of BMS 536924, a dual IGF1R/IR kinase inhibitor. In vivo, AKS-130 treatment by itself scaled down MCF7L parental xenograft growth as compared to vehicle group, and AKS-130 in combination with Tam trended toward extending time to a tumor size of 500mm3. In MCF7L TamR xenografts, addition of AKS-130 to Tam treatment also trended toward delaying xenograft growth, though it was not statistically significant. Importantly, prolonged treatment with AKS-130 did not lead to significant changes in weight or blood glucose. Taken together these data show that novel agents, such as AKS-130, may serve as way to disrupt IR signaling in cancer cells without affecting host glucose metabolism. Addition of AKS-130 to Tam treatment trended toward delaying xenograft growth though further studies are needed, especially animal model systems of insulin resistance. These data indicate that IR signaling may represent a target to overcome or delay endocrine therapy resistance in breast cancer.

Citation Format: Jingran Cao, Lynsey M. Fettig, Kelly LaPara, Xihong Zhang, Sylaja Murikipudi, Andrea R. Delpero, Thomas M. Lancaster, Todd C. Zion, Douglas Yee. Targeting insulin receptor in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-02-01.