Polo-like kinase 1 as a possible treatment combined with standard chemotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer

Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) was found to be significantly overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) compared to other breast cancer subtypes.

• High PLK1 expression was confirmed using reverse phase protein assays and tissue microarrays.
• Depletion of PLK1 in triple-negative cell lines led to increased markers of DNA damage, cell cycle arrest, and programmed cell death.
• Silencing PLK1 reduced the ability of TNBC cells to form colonies in soft-agar assays.
• PLK1 inhibition specifically induced apoptosis in TNBC cells but not in normal cells grown in extracellular matrix gels.
• In vivo administration of the PLK1 inhibitor BI-2536 significantly reduced tumor growth in patient-derived xenograft models of TNBC.
• Combining BI-2536 with chemotherapy resulted in a faster complete response and reduced the risk of relapse compared to chemotherapy alone.

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