BRCA1 regulates insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor levels in ovarian cancer

Breast cancer 1 (BRCA1) and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) are critical in ovarian cancer progression. However, the crosstalk between the BRCA1 and IGF1R signaling pathways in ovarian cancer remains largely unknown. The effects of BRCA1 on IGF1R were assessed in 121 serous ovarian cancer patients (BRCA1 mutation, n=30; non-BRCA1 mutation, n=32; hypermethylated BRCA1 promoter, n=28; and non-methylation, n=31). BRCA1 promoter methylation was analyzed via bisulfite sequencing using primers focused on the core promoter region. The expression levels of BRCA1 and IGF1R were assessed by immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Knockdown and overexpression of BRCA1 were achieved using a lentiviral vector in 293T and SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells, and primary non-mutated and BRCA1-mutated ovarian cancer cells. The present study demonstrated that IGF1R expression is increased in non-BRCA1-mutated ovarian cancer when compared with adjacent normal tissue. Furthermore, IGF1R levels are additionally significantly elevated in BRCA1 inactivation ovarian cancer (BRCA1 mutation or hypermethylated BRCA1 promoter). In addition, BRCA1 knockdown was found to be an effective method of activating IGF1R expression in non-BRCA1-mutated ovarian cancer cells. The observations of the current study indicate that BRCA1 may be a potential trigger that is involved in the transcriptional regulation of IGF1R in the development of ovarian cancer.