Overview:

PLK1 is a member of the Polo-Like Kinase family of Ser/Thr kinases. PLK1 localizes to centrosomes or spindle pole bodies and undergoes subcellular relocation during the cell cycle. Deregulated activities of PLKs often result in defective centrosome duplication, maturation, and/or microtubule dynamics (1). PLKs also regulate the function of the Golgi complex. Deregulated expression of human PLK1 is strongly correlated with the development of many types of malignancies. Furthermore, ectopic expression of PLK1 dominant negative protein leads to rapid cell death (2). It has been proposed that PLK1 function is altered at different stages of mitosis through consecutive phosphorylation events at Ser137 and Thr210 (3).

References:

1. Nigg, EA. et al: Dynamic changes in nuclear architecture during mitosis: on the role of protein phosphorylation in spindle assembly and chromosome segregation. Exp Cell Res. 1996 Dec 15;229 2. Dai, W. et al: Polo-like kinases and the microtubule organization center: targets for cancer therapies. Prog Cell Cycle Res. 2003;5:327-34.3. van de Weerdt B.C. , van Vugt MA, Lindon C, Kauw JJ, Rozendaal MJ, Klompmaker R, Wolthuis RM, Medema RH (2005) Uncoupling anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome activity from spindle assembly checkpoint control by deregulating polo-like kinase 1. Mol. Cell Biol. Mar; 25(5):2031-44, 2005.