Triggering anaphase catastrophe to combat aneuploid cancers.

TRIGGERING ANAPHASE CATASTROPHE TO COMBAT ANEUPLOID CANCERS. Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc. 2020;131:82-94 Authors: Dmitrovsky E, Kawakami M, Liu XI, Freemantle SJ, Kurie JM Abstract Cancer cells are genetically unstable and often have supernumerary centrosomes. When supernumerary centrosome clustering is inhibited at mitosis, multipolar cell division is forced, triggering apoptosis in daughter cells. This proapoptotic pathway is called anaphase catastrophe. Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) or CDK2 inhibitors can antagonize centrosome clustering and cause anaphase catastrophe to occur in lung cancer and other types of cancer. The centrosome protein CP110, a CDK1 and CDK2 phosphorylation substrate, engages anaphase catastrophe. Intriguingly, CP110 is downregulated by the KRAS oncoprotein, enhancing sensitivity of KRAS-driven cancers to CDK2 inhibitors. Anaphase catastrophe eradicates aneuploid cancer cells while relatively sparing normal diploid cells with two centrosomes. This therapeutic window discriminates between normal and neoplastic cells and can be exploited in the cancer clinic. The work reviewed here establishes that pharmacologically-induced anaphase catastrophe is useful to combat aneuploid cancers, especially when the KRAS oncoprotein is activated. This addresses an unmet medical need in oncology. PMID: 32675848 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association - Category: General Medicine Tags: Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc Source Type: research