PLK-1 is a key player in the eukaryotic cell cycle. Cell cycle progression is precisely controlled by cell cycle regulatory kinases. PLK-1 is a mitotic kinase that actively regulates the G2/M transition, mitosis, mitotic exit, and cytokinesis. During cell cycle progression, PLK-1 controls various events related to the cell cycle maturation, directly and/or indirectly. On the contrary, aberrant expression of PLK-1 is strongly associated with tumorigenesis and its poor prognosis. The misexpression of PLK-1 causes the abnormalities including aneuploidy, mitotic defects, leading to tumorigenesis through inhibiting the p53 and pRB genes. Therefore, we reviewed the role of PLK-1 in the cell cycle progression and in the tumorigenesis either as a cell cycle regulator or on an attractive anti-cancer drug target.
Keywords: Cell cycle progression; Mitosis; Mitotic kinase; Polo-like kinase-1; Tumorigenesis.
Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.