Cellular property and potential functions of insulin receptor (IR) induced by IGF-1/insulin on lung cancer cells
Abstract Background Under normal physiological conditions, insulin exhibited a series of important biological functions. However, more and more evidence indicate that insulin is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors. Recent studies have shown that insulin is also closely related to the occurrence and development of lung cancer. However, until now, the cellular properties of insulin/insulin receptors on lung cancer have not been fully revealed. Methods Indirect immunofluorescence, western-blot and other techniques have been used to identify the biological activity of insulin on lung cancer cell lines. Results The biological activity of insulin is closely related to its cell behavior. therefore we used lung cancer cell lines as a model to explore the cellular behavior and properties of insulin/IR in the current study, and the results showed that the IR can internalize into lung cancer cells, and it can also transport into the nucleus under insulin treatment. further study showed nuclear-localized IR could promote the proliferation of lung cancer cells. Taken together, this study shows that IR’s nuclear localization is closely related to cell proliferation. Conclusions This work lays the foundation for further research on relationship between insulin and the occurrence and development of lung cancer.