The Impact of IGFBP6 Knockdown on Cholesterol Metabolism in Breast Cancer Cells.

Abstract

Introduction: Cholesterol plays a key role in maintaining tumor cell homeostasis. Reduced IGFBP6 expression is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence. Previous studies showed that IGFBP6 knockdown decreases cholesterol levels in the MDA-MB-231 cell line. This study aimed to investigate how IGFBP6 influences genes involved in cholesterol metabolism.

Methods: We used MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells with IGFBP6 knockdown. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses were performed, with selected gene expression validated by RT-PCR. Correlations between IGFBP6 and cholesterol-related genes were evaluated using public RNA-seq datasets.

Results: IGFBP6 knockdown in MDA-MB-231 cells resulted in a threefold decrease in low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) expression and a twofold reduction in LDLR adaptor protein (LDLRAP1) mRNA levels, both responsible for exogenous cholesterol uptake. Meanwhile, PCSK9 expression increased 11-fold (p-adj = 1.4E-93), further limiting uptake. Despite the upregulation of genes involved in endogenous cholesterol synthesis (HMGCS1, HMGCR, FDFT1, SQLE, DHCR24), total cholesterol content in knockdown cells decreased, leading to activation of the sterol-dependent transcription factor SREBF1 (OR = 6.44; p-adj = 0.036). Correlation analysis revealed a significant association between IGFBP6 expression and cholesterol synthesis genes in basal-like breast cancer.

Discussion: The altered expression profile of multiple cholesterol metabolism-related genes with known prognostic value aligns with a transcriptional program typical of poor-outcome basal-like tumors. These findings support the role of IGFBP6 as a regulator of lipid metabolism and a potential biomarker for therapeutic stratification.

Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the reduction in cholesterol levels observed in breast cancer cells following IGFBP6 knockdown is primarily due to decreased exogenous uptake. These findings highlight the role of IGFBP6 in regulating cholesterol metabolism and further explain its clinical significance in predicting breast cancer recurrence and progression.