title: Centrosome function in normal and tumor cells.
abstract: Centrosomes nucleate microtubules that form the mitotic spindle and regulate the equal division of chromosomes during cell division. In cancer, centrosomes are often found amplified to greater than two per cell, and these tumor cells frequently have aneuploid genomes. In this review, we will discuss the cellular factors that regulate the proper duplication of the centrosome and how these regulatory steps can lead to abnormal centrosome numbers and abnormal mitoses. In particular, we highlight the newly emerging role of the Breast Cancer 1 (BRCA1) ubiquitin ligase in this process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Satish
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sankaran
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Parvin
mesh_terms: D019313:BRCA1 Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018385:Centrosome / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D025801:Ubiquitin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019313:BRCA1 Protein; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D025801:Ubiquitin