Identification of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Receptor (IGF-IR) Gene Promoter-Binding Proteins in Estrogen Receptor (ER)-Positive and ER-Depleted Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract: The insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGF-IR) has been implicated in the etiology of breast cancer. Overexpression of the IGF-IR gene is a typical feature of most primary breast cancers, whereas low IGF-IR levels are seen at advanced stages. Hence, evaluation of IGF-IR levels might be important for assessing prognosis. In the present study, we employed a proteomic approach based on DNA affinity chromatography followed either by mass spectroscopy (MS) or Western blot analysis to identify transcription factors that may associate with the IGF-IR promoter in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and ER-depleted breast cancer cells. A biotinylated IGF-IR promoter fragment was bound to streptavidin magnetic beads and incubated with nuclear extracts of breast cancer cells. IGF-IR promoter-binding proteins were eluted with high salt and analyzed by MS and Western blots. Among the proteins that were found to bind to the IGF-IR promoter we identified zinc finger transcription factors Sp1 and KLF6, ER-, p53, c-jun, and poly (ADP-ribosylation) polymerase. Furthermore, chromatin immune-precipitation (ChIP) analysis confirmed the direct in vivo binding of some of these transcription factors to IGF-IR promoter DNA. The functional relevance of binding data was assessed by cotransfection experiments with specific expression vectors along with an IGF-IR promoter reporter. In summary, we identified nuclear proteins that are potentially responsible for the differential expression of the IGF-IR gene in ER-positive and ER-depleted breast cancer cells.