Nuclear insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R) displays proliferative and regulatory activities in non-malignant cells

The insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R) mediates the biological actions of IGF1 and IGF2. The IGF1R is involved in both physiological and pathological activities and is usually overexpressed in most types of cancer. In addition to its classical mechanism of action, recent evidence has shown a nuclear presence of IGF1R, associated with novel genomic/transcriptional types of activities. The present study was aimed at evaluating the hypothesis that nuclear IGF1R localization is not restricted to cancer cells and might constitute a novel physiologically relevant regulatory mechanism. Our data shows that nuclear translocation takes place in a wide array of cells, including normal diploid fibroblasts. In addition, we provide evidence for a synergistic effect of a nuclear translocation blocker along with selective IGF1R inhibitors in terms of decreasing cell proliferation. Given the important role of the IGF1R in mitogenesis, the present results may be of translational relevance in cancer research. In conclusion, results are consistent with the concept that nuclear IGF1R fulfills important physiological and pathological roles.