Neuregulin 1-HER axis as a key mediator of hyperglycemic memory effects in breast cancer

Poor outcomes in diabetic patients are observed across a range of human tumors, suggesting that cancer cells develop unique characteristics under diabetic conditions. Cancer cells exposed to hyperglycemic insults acquire permanent aggressive traits of tumor growth, even after a return to euglycemic conditions. Comparative genome-wide mapping of hyperglycemia-specific open chromatin regions and concomitant mRNA expression profiling revealed that the neuregulin-1 gene, encoding an established endogenous ligand for the HER3 receptor, is activated through a putative distal enhancer. Our findings highlight the targeted inhibition of NRG1-HER3 pathways as a potential target for the treatment breast cancer patients with associated diabetes.