Inhibition of Polo-like kinase 1 prevents the growth of metastatic breast cancer cells in the brain Journal Article


Authors: Qian, Y.; Hua, E.; Bisht, K.; Woditschka, S.; Skordos, K. W.; Liewehr, D. J.; Steinberg, S. M.; Brogi, E.; Akram, M. M.; Killian, J. K.; Edelman, D. C.; Pineda, M.; Scurci, S.; Degenhardt, Y. Y.; Laquerre, S.; Lampkin, T. A.; Meltzer, P. S.; Camphausen, K.; Steeg, P. S.; Palmieri, D.
Article Title: Inhibition of Polo-like kinase 1 prevents the growth of metastatic breast cancer cells in the brain
Abstract: Few therapeutic strategies exist for the treatment of metastatic tumor cells in the brain because the blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits drug access. Thus the identification of molecular targets and accompanying BBB permeable drugs will significantly benefit brain metastasis patients. Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is an attractive molecular target because it is only expressed in dividing cells and its expression is upregulated in many tumors. Analysis of a publicly available database of human breast cancer metastases revealed Plk1 mRNA expression was significantly increased in brain metastases compared to systemic metastases (P = 0.0018). The selective Plk1 inhibitor, GSK461364A, showed substantial uptake in normal rodent brain. Using a breast cancer brain metastatic xenograft model (231-BR), we tested the efficacy of GSK461364A to prevent brain metastatic colonization. When treatment was started 3 days post-injection, GSK461364A at 50 mg/kg inhibited the development of large brain metastases 62% (P = 0.0001) and prolonged survival by 17%. GSK461364A sensitized tumor cells to radiation induced cell death in vitro. Previously, it was reported that mutations in p53 might render tumor cells more sensitive to Plk1 inhibition; however, p53 mutations are uncommon in breast cancer. In a cohort of 41 primary breast tumors and matched brain metastases, p53 immunostaining was increased in 61% of metastases; 44% of which were associated with primary tumors with low p53. The data suggest that p53 overexpression occurs frequently in brain metastases and may facilitate sensitivity to Plk1 inhibition. These data indicate Plk1 may be a new druggable target for the prevention of breast cancer brain metastases. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.
Keywords: immunohistochemistry; cancer survival; controlled study; protein expression; survival rate; unclassified drug; mutation; drug efficacy; nonhuman; animal cell; animal tissue; cell death; cell division; enzyme inhibition; breast cancer; animal experiment; animal model; in vitro study; data base; protein p53; cancer inhibition; drug uptake; polo like kinase 1; nucleotide sequence; cancer cell; brain metastasis; targeted therapy; breast metastasis; p53; Plk1; gsk 461364a; polo like kinase inhibitor
Journal Title: Clinical and Experimental Metastasis
Volume: 28
Issue: 8
ISSN: 0262-0898
Publisher: Springer  
Date Published: 2011-12-01
Start Page: 899
End Page: 908
Language: English
DOI: 10.1007/s10585-011-9421-9
PROVIDER: scopus
PUBMED: 21953073
PMCID: PMC7416514
DOI/URL:
Notes: --- - "Export Date: 3 January 2012" - "CODEN: CEXMD" - "Molecular Sequence Numbers: GENBANK: NM_005030;" - "Source: Scopus"
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MSK Authors
  1. Edi Brogi
    515 Brogi
  2. Muzaffar M Akram
    92 Akram