title: Polo-like kinase 1 in the life and death of cancer cells.
abstract: The polo-like kinase family plays a vital role in many cell cycle related events. The family includes mammalian Plkl, Snk (Plk2), and Fnk/Prk (Plk3), Xenopus laevis Plxl,Drosophila polo, fission yeast Plol, and budding yeast Cdc5. These enzymes, in addition to a conserved kinase domain at the N-terminus, have highly conserved sequences called polo-box(s) in the non-catalytic C-terminal domain. Genetic and biochemical experiments with several different organisms have documented that polo-like kinases are involved in many aspects of the cell cycle, such as activation of Cdc2, centrosome assembly and maturation, activation of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) during the metaphase-anaphase transition, and cytokinesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. liu13@fas.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Xiaoqi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Raymond L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Erikson
mesh_terms: D016203:CDC2 Protein Kinase / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D002842:Chromatids / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism; D000097869:Polo-Like Kinase 1
chemical_list: D016203:CDC2 Protein Kinase; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011494:Protein Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D000097869:Polo-Like Kinase 1