RNA干扰技术抑制Polo-like激酶1表达对A549细胞的影响

Polo-like激酶1(Plk1)是参与细胞周期调控的重要分子,已在多种肿瘤中检测到Plk1的高表达,并发现与肿瘤细胞的增殖和预后密切关联.为明确Plk1在肺癌细胞系A549细胞增殖和周期运行中的作用,采用RNA干扰技术,构建能产生siRNA的质粒载体psiRNA-hH1-Plk1并导入A549细胞中.采用RT-PCR检测Plk1mRNA表达的变化,Western印迹检测Plk1、细胞周期蛋白B1、p53蛋白的表达变化,流式细胞术分析细胞周期变化和凋亡;免疫荧光染色检测α微管蛋白的表达.以此观察RNA干扰能否有效抑制Plk1的表达水平,以及抑制后对A549细胞生长的影响.结果表明,psiRNA-hH1-Plk1质粒能特异性地抑制Plk1基因的表达并使其活性下降,细胞周期蛋白B1及p53蛋白的表达水平升高,微管聚集障碍或形成单极的纺锤体,A549细胞增殖减慢,出现G2/M期阻滞并存在细胞凋亡.针对Plk1基因的RNA干扰有望用于肿瘤的基因治疗.     

p53 is not directly relevant to the response of Polo-like kinase 1 inhibitors

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is elementary for cell proliferation and its deregulation is involved in tumorigenesis. Plk1 has been established as one of the most attractive targets for molecular cancer therapy. In fact, multiple small molecule inhibitors targeting either the kinase domain or the Polo-box binding domain (PBD) of Plk1 have been identified and intensively investigated. Intriguingly, Plk1 depletion affects more cancer cells than normal cells. It is also reported that the cytotoxicity induced by Plk1 inhibition is elevated in cancer cells with defective p53. The data lead to the hypothesis that p53 might be a predictive marker for the response of Plk1 inhibition. In this study, we demonstrate that there is no obvious different cytotoxic response between cancer cells with and without functional p53, including the isogenic colon cancer cell lines HCT116p53(+/+) and HCT116p53(-/-), breast cancer cell line MCF7, lung cancer cell line A549 and cervical carcinoma cell line HeLa, after treatment with either siRNA against Plk1, the kinase domain inhibitors BI 2536 and BI 6727 or the PBD inhibitor Poloxin. We suggest that the p53 status is not a predictor for the response of Plk1 inhibition, at least not directly. Yet, the long-term outcomes of losing p53, such as genome instability, could be associated with the cytotoxicity of Plk1 inhibition. Further studies are required to investigate whether other circumstances of cancer cells, such as DNA replication/damage stress, mitotic stress, and metabolic stress, which make possibly the survival of cancer cells more dependent on Plk1 function, are responsible for the sensitivity of Plk1 inhibition.     

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) in non-melanoma skin cancers

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is becoming an increasingly attractive target for cancer management. Plk1 has been shown to be over-expressed in a variety of cancers; however its role in skin cancers is not well-understood. We recently demonstrated that Plk1 is over-expressed in human melanoma and gene-knockdown as well as chemical-inhibition of Plk1 resulted in a significant decrease in melanoma cell viability and growth without affecting the growth of the normal human epidermal melanocytes (NHEMs). Further, the observed anti-proliferative response of Plk1 was found to be accompanied with a significant G2/M cell cycle arrest, mitotic catastrophe and induction of apoptosis in melanoma cells. In this study, we determined the expression profile of Plk1 in non-melanoma skin cancers viz. basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Our data demonstrated that like melanoma, Plk1 is significantly over-expressed in BCC and SCC samples. Further, we also found that compared to normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs), Plk1 was over-expressed at both the protein and mRNA levels in squamous A253 and A431 cells. In addition, a similar protein expression pattern was found for the downstream targets of Plk1, viz. Cdk1, Cyclin B1 and Cdc25C. We believe that the expression pattern of Plk1 in the various skin cancers, the insusceptibility of normal keratinocytes, to Plk1 inhibition and the easy accessibility for topical applications lends the skin as an attractive tissue for Plk1 based cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapeutic applications.     

BI 2536, a potent and selective inhibitor of polo-like kinase 1, inhibits tumor growth in vivo

Fine-mapping of the cell-division cycle, notably the identification of mitotic kinase signaling pathways, provides novel opportunities for cancer-drug discovery. As a key regulator of multiple steps during mitotic progression across eukaryotic species, the serine/threonine-specific Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is highly expressed in malignant cells and serves as a negative prognostic marker in specific human cancer types . Here, we report the discovery of a potent small-molecule inhibitor of mammalian Plk1, BI 2536, which inhibits Plk1 enzyme activity at low nanomolar concentrations. The compound potently causes a mitotic arrest and induces apoptosis in human cancer cell lines of diverse tissue origin and oncogenome signature. BI 2536 inhibits growth of human tumor xenografts in nude mice and induces regression of large tumors with well-tolerated intravenous dose regimens. In treated tumors, cells arrest in prometaphase, accumulate phosphohistone H3, and contain aberrant mitotic spindles. This mitotic arrest is followed by a surge in apoptosis, detectable by immunohistochemistry and noninvasive optical and magnetic resonance imaging. For addressing the therapeutic potential of Plk1 inhibition, BI 2536 has progressed into clinical studies in patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancers.     

Normal cells, but not cancer cells, survive severe Plk1 depletion

We previously reported the phenotype of depletion of polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) using RNA interference (RNAi) and showed that p53 is stabilized in Plk1-depleted cancer cells. In this study, we further analyzed the Plk1 depletion-induced phenotype in both cancer cells and primary cells. The vector-based RNAi approach was used to evaluate the role of the p53 pathway in Plk1 depletion-induced apoptosis in cancer cells with different p53 backgrounds. Although DNA damage and cell death can occur independently of p53, p53-deficient cancer cells were much more sensitive to Plk1 depletion than cancer cells with functional p53. Next, the lentivirus-based RNAi approach was used to generate a series of Plk1 hypomorphs. In HeLa cells, two weak hypomorphs showed only slight G2/M arrest, a medium hypomorph arrested with 4N DNA content, followed later by apoptosis, and a strong Plk1 hypomorph underwent serious mitotic catastrophe. In well-synchronized HeLa cells, a medium level of Plk1 depletion caused a 2-h delay of mitotic progression, and a high degree of Plk1 depletion significantly delayed mitotic entry and completely blocked cells at mitosis. In striking contrast, normal hTERT-RPE1 and MCF10A cells were much less sensitive to Plk1 depletion than HeLa cells; no apparent cell proliferation defect or cell cycle arrest was observed after Plk1 depletion in these cells. Therefore, these data further support suggestions that Plk1 may be a feasible cancer therapy target.     

Plk1 inhibition enhances the efficacy of gemcitabine in human pancreatic cancer

Gemcitabine is the standard-of-care for chemotherapy in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma and it can directly incorporate into DNA or inhibit ribonucleotide reductase to prevent DNA replication and, thus, tumor cell growth. Most pancreatic tumors, however, develop resistance to gemcitabine. Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), a critical regulator in many cell cycle events, is significantly elevated in human pancreatic cancer. In this study, we show that Plk1 is required for the G1/S transition and that inhibition of Plk1 significantly reduces the DNA synthesis rate in human pancreatic cancer cells. Furthermore, the combined effect of a specific Plk1 inhibitor GSK461364A with gemcitabine was examined. We show that inhibition of Plk1 significantly potentiates the anti-neoplastic activity of gemcitabine in both cultured pancreatic cancer cells and Panc1-derived orthotopic pancreatic cancer xenograft tumors. Overall, our study demonstrates that co-targeting Plk1 can significantly enhance the efficacy of gemcitabine, offering a promising new therapeutic option for the treatment of gemcitabine-resistant human pancreatic cancer.     

Polo样激酶1在细胞周期及细胞周期监测点中的功能

Plk1（Polo-like kinase 1）是一类从酵母到人类都高度保守的丝氨酸/苏氨酸蛋白激酶,是真核细胞有丝分裂的重要调控因子.Plk1随有丝分裂进程定位于不同位点,调节分裂期进入、纺锤体形成和胞质分裂等过程.Plk1能够与磷酸化的停靠蛋白结合,从而在不同空间被激活以满足其在细胞周期中的不同功能.Plk1还参与G2和M期DNA损伤监测点的调节,对于DNA损伤恢复后重新进入有丝分裂期是必须的.目前,Plk1的重要功能尤其是在DNA损伤监测点中发挥的重要功能正在被广泛研究.Plk1在多种恶性肿瘤中存在过表达且与肿瘤发生密切相关,对于Plk1功能的深入研究为以Plk1为靶的肿瘤治疗提供理论依据     

Polo-like kinase 1-mediated phosphorylation stabilizes Pin1 by inhibiting its ubiquitination in human cells

The Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is a key regulator of mitosis. It is reported that the human peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans-isomerase Pin1 binds to Plk1 from mitotic cell extracts in vitro. Here we demonstrate that Ser-65 in Pin1 is the major site for Plk1-specific phosphorylation, and the polo-box domain of Plk1 is required for this phosphorylation. Interestingly, the phosphorylation of Pin1 by Plk1 does not affect its isomerase activity but rather is linked to its protein stability. Pin1 is ubiquitinated in HeLa S3 cells, and substitution of Glu for Ser-65 reduces the ubiquitination of Pin1. Furthermore, inhibition of Plk1 activity by expression of a dominant negative form of Plk1 or by transfection of small interfering RNA targeted to Plk1 enhances the ubiquitination of Pin1 and subsequently reduces the amount of Pin1 in human cancer cells. Since previous reports suggested that Plk1 is a substrate of Pin1, our work adds a new dimension to this interaction of two important mitotic regulators.     

Furry Protein Promotes Aurora A-mediated Polo-like Kinase 1 Activation

Bipolar mitotic spindle organization is fundamental to faithful chromosome segregation. Furry (Fry) is an evolutionarily conserved protein implicated in cell division and morphology. In human cells, Fry localizes to centrosomes and spindle microtubules in early mitosis, and depletion of Fry causes multipolar spindle formation. However, it remains unknown how Fry controls bipolar spindle organization. This study demonstrates that Fry binds to polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) through the polo-box domain of Plk1 in a manner dependent on the cyclin-dependent kinase 1-mediated Fry phosphorylation at Thr-2516. Fry also binds to Aurora A and promotes Plk1 activity by binding to the polo-box domain of Plk1 and by facilitating Aurora A-mediated Plk1 phosphorylation at Thr-210. Depletion of Fry causes centrosome and centriole splitting in mitotic spindles and reduces the kinase activity of Plk1 in mitotic cells and the accumulation of Thr-210-phosphorylated Plk1 at the spindle poles. Our results suggest that Fry plays a crucial role in the structural integrity of mitotic centrosomes and in the maintenance of spindle bipolarity by promoting Plk1 activity at the spindle poles in early mitosis.     

Cell cycle regulation of the activity and subcellular localization of Plk1, a human protein kinase implicated in mitotic spindle function

Correct assembly and function of the mitotic spindle during cell division is essential for the accurate partitioning of the duplicated genome to daughter cells. Protein phosphorylation has long been implicated in controlling spindle function and chromosome segregation, and genetic studies have identified several protein kinases and phosphatases that are likely to regulate these processes. In particular, mutations in the serine/threonine-specific Drosophila kinase polo, and the structurally related kinase Cdc5p of Saccharomyces cerevisae, result in abnormal mitotic and meiotic divisions. Here, we describe a detailed analysis of the cell cycle-dependent activity and subcellular localization of Plk1, a recently identified human protein kinase with extensive sequence similarity to both Drosophila polo and S. cerevisiae Cdc5p. With the aid of recombinant baculoviruses, we have established a reliable in vitro assay for Plk1 kinase activity. We show that the activity of human Plk1 is cell cycle regulated, Plk1 activity being low during interphase but high during mitosis. We further show, by immunofluorescent confocal laser scanning microscopy, that human Plk1 binds to components of the mitotic spindle at all stages of mitosis, but undergoes a striking redistribution as cells progress from metaphase to anaphase. Specifically, Plk1 associates with spindle poles up to metaphase, but relocalizes to the equatorial plane, where spindle microtubules overlap (the midzone), as cells go through anaphase. These results indicate that the association of Plk1 with the spindle is highly dynamic and that Plk1 may function at multiple stages of mitotic progression. Taken together, our data strengthen the notion that human Plk1 may represent a functional homolog of polo and Cdc5p, and they suggest that this kinase plays an important role in the dynamic function of the mitotic spindle during chromosome segregation.     

RNA 干涉介导的Plk1 沉默对乳腺癌细胞恶性生物表型的影响

目的:研究乳腺癌细胞中丝/苏氨酸蛋白激酶Plk1基因表达下调后对其恶性生物表型的影响。方法:利用pSilencer4.1-CMVneo质粒,分别构建针对Plk1基因的RNA干涉载体(pSilencer4.1-shPlk1),利用脂质体Lipofectamine2000转染MCF-7细胞,G418筛选稳定的转染细胞系。半定量RT-PCR和Western blot分别检测Plk1基因mRNA和蛋白表达,MTT和克隆形成试验检测细胞增殖活性的变化,流式细胞仪分析细胞周期和凋亡的变化,最后分析MCF-7细胞对紫杉类药物(紫杉醇和多西他赛)化疗敏感性的变化。结果:成功筛选了稳定转染细胞系(MCF-7/shPlk1和MCF-7/shcontrol)。同MCF-7/shPlk1细胞相比,MCF-7/shPlk1细胞中Plk1基因mRNA和蛋白表达水平分别下调65.8%和74.4%(P<0.05)。同MCF-7/shcontrol,MCF-7/shPlk1细胞增殖速度显著抑制,到第5天时抑制率达到44.9±3.2%(P<0.05)。同时,MCF-7/shPlk1细胞的克隆形成能力显著降低(P<0.01)。流式细胞仪技术分析细胞周期结果表明:MCF-7/shPlk1细胞的G2/M期细胞比例显著增加了21.1±4.1%,而S期细胞比例则显著降低了(18.5±3.1%;P<0.05)。流式细胞仪技术分析细胞凋亡结果表明:MCF-7/shPlk1细胞的凋亡率约显著增加了13.1±2.3%(P<0.05)。同时还发现:MCF-7/shPlk1细胞中激活的caspase-3蛋白显著增加,Bcl-2蛋白显著降低,而Bax蛋白则显著增加。结论:RNA干涉载体能特异性下调乳腺癌细胞中Plk1基因的表达,从而抑制乳腺癌细胞的增殖和体外克隆形成能力,同时诱导乳腺癌细胞的G2/M期阻滞和细胞凋亡率显著增加。因此,靶向Plk1基因的生物治疗有望成为未来临床乳腺癌的一个重要的辅助治疗策略。     

Polo-like kinase 1 regulates mitotic arrest after UV irradiation through dephosphorylation of p53 and inducing p53 degradation

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation can result in cell cycle arrest. The reactivation of Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is necessary for cell cycle reentry. But the mechanism of how Plk1 regulates p53 in UV-induced mitotic arrest cells remained elusive. Here we find that UV treatment leads HEK293 cells to inverse changes of Plk1 and p53. Over-expression of Plk1 rescue UV-induced mitotic arrest cells by inhibiting p53 activation. Plk1 could also inhibit p53 phosphorylation at Ser15, thus facilitates its nuclear export and degradation. Further examination shows that Plk1, p53 and Cdc25C can form a large complex. Plk1 could bind to the sequence-specific DNA-binding domain of p53 and active Cdc25C by hyperphosphorylation. These results hypothesize that Plk1 and Cdc25C participate in recovery the mitotic arrest through binding to the different domain of p53. Cdc25C may first be actived by Plk1, and then its phosphatase activity makes p53 dephosphorylated at Ser15.     

Mitotic entry: The interplay between Cdk1, Plk1 and Bora

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is an important mitotic kinase that is crucial for entry into mitosis after recovery from DNA damage-induced cell cycle arrest. Plk1 activation is promoted by the conserved protein Bora (SPAT-1 in C. elegans), which stimulates the phosphorylation of a conserved residue in the activation loop by the Aurora A kinase. In a recent article published in Cell Reports, we show that the master mitotic kinase Cdk1 contributes to Plk1 activation through SPAT-1/Bora phosphorylation. We identified 3 conserved Sp/Tp residues that are located in the N-terminal, most conserved part, of SPAT-1/Bora. Phosphorylation of these sites by Cdk1 is essential for Plk1 function in mitotic entry in C. elegans embryos and during DNA damage checkpoint recovery in mammalian cells. Here, using an untargeted Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) biosensor to monitor Plk1 activation, we provide additional experimental evidence supporting the importance of these phosphorylation sites for Plk1 activation and subsequent mitotic entry after DNA damage. We also briefly discuss the mechanism of Plk1 activation and the potential role of Bora phosphorylation by Cdk1 in this process. As Plk1 is overexpressed in cancer cells and this correlates with poor prognosis, understanding how Bora contributes to Plk1 activation is paramount for the development of innovative therapeutical approaches.     

Genetic depletion of Polo‐like kinase 1 leads to embryonic lethality due to mitotic aberrancies

Polo‐like kinase 1 (PLK1) is a serine/threonine kinase that plays multiple and essential roles during the cell division cycle. Its inhibition in cultured cells leads to severe mitotic aberrancies and cell death. Whereas previous reports suggested that Plk1 depletion in mice leads to a non‐mitotic arrest in early embryos, we show here that the bi‐allelic Plk1 depletion in mice certainly results in embryonic lethality due to extensive mitotic aberrations at the morula stage, including multi‐ and mono‐polar spindles, impaired chromosome segregation and cytokinesis failure. In addition, the conditional depletion of Plk1 during mid‐gestation leads also to severe mitotic aberrancies. Our data also confirms that Plk1 is completely dispensable for mitotic entry in vivo. On the other hand, Plk1 haploinsufficient mice are viable, and Plk1‐heterozygous fibroblasts do not harbor any cell cycle alterations. Plk1 is overexpressed in many human tumors, suggesting a therapeutic benefit of inhibiting Plk1, and specific small‐molecule inhibitors for this kinase are now being evaluated in clinical trials. Therefore, the different Plk1 mouse models here presented are a valuable tool to reexamine the relevance of the mitotic kinase Plk1 during mammalian development and animal physiology.     

氯化锂抑制A549细胞增殖及其对Polo-like激酶1转录活性的影响

利用糖原合成酶激酶3的抑制剂氯化锂作用于A549细胞,观察细胞形态与增殖的改变及其对Polo－like激酶1转录活性的影响.采用细胞计数检测细胞增殖,流式细胞术分析细胞周期变化;Western印迹检测磷酸化GSK3以及细胞周期相关蛋白p53、cyclin B1和Plk1的表达变化;RT-PCR检测Plk1 mRNA的表达;荧光素酶报告基因分析氯化锂对Plk1启动子活性的影响.结果显示,5 mmol/L氯化锂作用48 h后,A549细胞即发生明显的形态学改变,细胞增殖减慢并发生G2/M期阻滞;Plk1 mRNA和蛋白表达均升高,p53蛋白表达增强,而cyclin B1的蛋白表达无明显变化.氯化锂作用24 h后,可见pGL2-Plk1转染组中荧光素酶活性增高（与对照质粒相比,P<0.05）,48 h后更明显.以上结果表明, 氯化锂减慢A549细胞增殖,导致G2/M期阻滞,并能增强Plk1的启动子活性,促进Plk1的表达.     

Polo on the Rise-from Mitotic Entry to Cytokinesis with Plk1

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is a key regulator of cell division in eukaryotic cells. New techniques, including the application of small-molecule inhibitors, have greatly expanded our knowledge of the functions, targets, and regulation of this key mitotic enzyme. In this review, we focus on how Plk1 is recruited to centrosomes, kinetochores, and the spindle midzone and what the specific tasks of Plk1 at these distinct subcellular structures might be. In particular, we highlight new work on the role of Plk1 in cytokinesis in human cells. Finally, we describe how better understanding of Plk1 functions allows critical evaluation of Plk1 as a potential drug target for cancer therapy.     

Polo-like kinase 1 inactivation following mitotic DNA damaging treatments is independent of ataxia telangiectasia mutated kinase

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is an important regulator of several events during mitosis. Recent reports show that Plk1 is involved in both G2 and mitotic DNA damage checkpoints. Ataxia telangiectasia mutated kinase (ATM) is an important enzyme involved in G2 phase cell cycle arrest following interphase DNA damage, and inhibition of Plk1 by DNA damage during G2 occurs in an ATM-/ATM-Rad3-related kinase (ATR)-dependent fashion. However, it is unclear how Plk1 is regulated in response to M phase DNA damage. We found that treatment of mitotic cells with DNA damaging agents inhibits Plk1 activity primarily through dephosphorylation of Plk1, which occurred in both p53 wild-type and mutant cells. Inhibition of Plk1 is not prevented by caffeine pretreatment that inhibits ATM activity and also occurs in ATM mutant cell lines. Furthermore, ATM mutant cell lines, unlike wild-type cells, fail to arrest after mitotic DNA damaging treatments. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, LY294002, reduces Plk1 dephosphorylation following mitotic DNA damaging treatments, suggesting that the PI3K pathway may be involved in regulating Plk1 activity. Earlier studies showed that inhibition of Plk1 by G2 DNA damage occurs in an ATM-dependent fashion. Our results extend the previous studies by showing that ATM is not required for dephosphorylation and inhibition of Plk1 activity following mitotic DNA damage, and also suggest that Plk1 is not a principal regulator or mediator of the mitotic DNA damage response.     

Regulation of Polo-like kinase 1 by DNA damage in mitosis. Inhibition of mitotic PLK-1 by protein phosphatase 2A

DNA damage triggers multiple checkpoint pathways to arrest cell cycle progression. Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is an important regulator of several events during mitosis. In addition to Plk1 functions in cell cycle, Plk1 is involved in DNA damage check-point in G2 phase. Normally, ataxia telangiectasia-mutated kinase (ATM) is a key enzyme involved in G2 phase cell cycle arrest following DNA damage, and inhibition of Plk1 by DNA damage during G2 occurs in a ATM/ATR-dependent manner. However, it is still unclear how Plk1 is regulated in response to DNA damage in mitosis in which Plk1 is already activated. Here, we show that treatment of mitotic cells with doxorubicin and gamma-irradiation inhibits Plk1 activity through dephosphorylation of Plk1, and cells were arrested in G2 phase. Treatments of the phosphatase inhibitors and siRNA experiments suggested that PP2A pathway might be involved in regulating mitotic Plk1 activity in mitotic DNA damage. Finally, we propose a novel pathway, which is connected between ATM/ATR/Chk and protein phosphatase-Plk1 in DNA damage response in mitosis.     

Polo-like kinase 1 facilitates loss of Pten tumor suppressor-induced prostate cancer formation

Loss of the tumor suppressor Pten (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) is thought to mediate the majority of prostate cancers, but the molecular mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we demonstrate that Pten-depleted cells suffer from mitotic stress and that nuclear function of Pten, but not its phosphatase activity, is required to reverse this stress phenotype. Further, depletion of Pten results in elevated expression of Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), a critical regulator of the cell cycle. We show that overexpression of Plk1 correlates with genetic inactivation of Pten during prostate neoplasia formation. Significantly, we find that elevated Plk1 is critical for Pten-depleted cells to adapt to mitotic stress for survival and that reintroduction of wild-type Pten into Pten-null prostate cancer cells reduces the survival dependence on Plk1. We further show that Plk1 confers the tumorigenic competence of Pten-deleted prostate cancer cells in a mouse xenograft model. These findings identify a role of Plk1 in facilitating loss of Pten-induced prostate cancer formation, which suggests that Plk1 might be a promising target for prostate cancer patients with inactivating Pten mutations.     

Anti-breast cancer activity of LFM-A13, a potent inhibitor of Polo-like kinase (PLK)

Molecular modeling studies led to the identification of LFM-A13 (alpha-cyano-beta-hydroxy-beta-methyl-N-(2,5-dibromophenyl)propenamide) as a potent inhibitor of Polo-like kinase (Plk). LFM-A13 inhibited recombinant purified Plx1, the Xenopus homolog of Plk, in a concentration-dependent fashion, as measured by autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of a substrate Cdc25 peptide. LFM-A13 was a selective Plk inhibitor. While the human PLK3 kinase was also inhibited by LFM-A13 with an IC(50) value of 61 microM, none of the 7 other serine/threonine kinases, including CDK1, CDK2, CDK3, CHK1, IKK, MAPK1 or SAPK2a, none of the 10 tyrosine kinases, including ABL, BRK, BMX, c-KIT, FYN, IGF1R, PDGFR, JAK2, MET, or YES, or the lipid kinase PI3Kgamma were inhibited (IC(50) values >200-500 microM). The mode of Plk3 inhibition by LFM-A13 was competitive with respect to ATP with a K(i) value of 7.2 microM from Dixon plots. LFM-A13 blocked the cell division in a zebrafish (ZF) embryo model at the 16-cell stage of the embryonic development followed by total cell fusion and lysis. LFM-A13 prevented bipolar mitotic spindle assembly in human breast cancer cells and glioblastoma cells and when microinjected into living epithelial cells at the prometaphase stage of cell division, it caused a total mitotic arrest. Notably, LFM-A13-delayed tumor progression in the MMTV/neu transgenic mouse model of HER2 positive breast cancer at least as effectively as paclitaxel and gemcitabine. LFM-A13 showed a favorable toxicity profile in mice and rats. In particular there was no evidence of hematologic toxicity as documented by peripheral blood counts and bone marrow examinations. These results establish LFM-A13 as a small molecule inhibitor of Plk with in vitro and in vivo anti-proliferative activity against human breast cancer.